Shenzhen drive and vision lead the way for Hong Kong
Removal of checkpoints that once separated the special economic zone, now aiming to become China’s Silicon Valley, from the rest of the country reflects the pace of wider development
The iron fence and checkpoints that once separated Shenzhen from the rest of the country have long gone and their scrapping was made official by the State Council on Monday. They had restricted the movement of people and goods in and out of a zone that had special tax concessions to attract foreign investors.
The model was Hong Kong; our city’s entrepreneurs played an instrumental role in the evolution of Shenzhen from a fishing village of a few thousand people to the metropolis of 12 million that it has become. With the narrowing of the gap in development with the rest of Guangdong province, restricting migration and urbanisation through artificial barriers no longer made sense.
Hong Kong is still trying to define its role in the strategy, although as China’s most international city, there are numerous development opportunities. Shenzhen can be the inspiration, just as Hong Kong was when it drove its northern neighbour to greater achievement.