Chinese hi-tech hub Shenzhen gears up for steady economic expansion over next five years, cementing its role as the Greater Bay Area’s ‘core engine’
- Under its new five-year plan, Shenzhen will sharpen its focus in the fields of semiconductors, biomedicine, new energy vehicles and the digital economy
- The 130-page economic blueprint forecasts the local economy to reach US$626 billion by 2025
Under that plan, Shenzhen’s per capita gross domestic product is forecast to hit 215,000 yuan in 2025, or US$33,629, to narrow the city’s wealth gap with neighbouring Hong Kong, which had a per capita GDP of US$45,176 last year.
In a broader context, the southern city will have a bigger role to play, as the hi-tech rivalry between the US and China intensifies, according to Guo Wanda, executive vice-president of Shenzhen-based think tank China Development Institute.
“What differentiates Shenzhen from other tech hubs in China is its vigorous ecosystem of tech companies, which the city expects to play a major role in driving innovation,” Guo said. “Unlike the traditional basic scientific research led by the government and universities, Shenzhen’s research and development initiatives target the requirements of industries and the general market.”
Shenzhen, which covers a land area about twice that of Hong Kong, will upgrade 100 square kilometres of industrial parks and renovate another 100 sq kms of “industrial land”, according to its five-year plan, indicating the phase-out of low value-added factories and development of advanced hi-tech plants.
The main airport in Shenzhen is expected to handle more than 70 million passengers by 2025, while the terminals that form the Port of Shenzhen will accommodate as much as 33 million containers in the same period.
In a gesture to solve its housing problem, Shenzhen plans to develop at least 280,000 public flats over the next five years, in addition to increasing investments in hospitals and kindergartens.