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Opinion | Why Hong Kong shouldn’t feel threatened by Shenzhen’s success
- The celebration of the special economic zone’s 40th anniversary has renewed concerns that Hong Kong is losing out to its neighbour. But is fear and loathing the right response?
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We have been hearing a lot about the “Shenzhen miracle” recently. Two weeks ago, all eyes in China were on the city just across our northern border as it celebrated its 40th anniversary as a special economic zone and its many achievements.
What was a fishing village became an economic powerhouse and a technological leader. And President Xi Jinping is right to say that the city had achieved in just 40 years what other countries would have taken a century to do.
Shenzhen has come a long way indeed, and its pace of transformation is nothing short of phenomenal. The architect of China’s opening up, paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, tasked Shenzhen with looking to Hong Kong, which had once also been a sleepy fishing village before it turned into a world city on a par with London and New York.
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Hong Kong was a blueprint for Shenzhen’s transformation and, more importantly, took an active part in its development. Shenzhen’s experimental economy offered real business opportunities for Hong Kong.
05:27
China must rely on its ‘internal market for innovation’, says sociology Prof Lau Siu Kai
China must rely on its ‘internal market for innovation’, says sociology Prof Lau Siu Kai
So it wasn’t entirely surprising that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor delayed her policy address to cross the Shenzhen River and join the celebrations. What raised eyebrows was the eleventh hour at which the postponement was announced, giving rise to speculation in political circles.
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