Premier Wen Jiabao has assured Shenzhen that its unique status as a special economic zone will be preserved.
He made the remark during a high-profile visit to Shenzhen from Friday to yesterday in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the special economic zone on Thursday.
'Not only will the Shenzhen special economic zone continue, we should make it even better,' Wen said.
His remarks came amid analysts' views that Shenzhen has lost its edge and uniqueness as a special economic zone because other parts of the mainland have also opened up to the world.
Shenzhen was picked by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping as one of the first cities to be opened to the world 30 years ago. As a special economic zone, it was given preferential policies such as tax breaks to attract foreign investors.
Wen, accompanied by Guangdong party secretary Wang Yang, visited enterprises, research institutes and the border checkpoints of Huanggang and Shenzhen Bay. He also inspected a Shenzhen-Hong Kong joint development project in Qianhai .