Development cues from Shenzhen allowing enterprises to get ahead

The approval of the Harbin area of the China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone represents a new starting point for the Harbin New Area in the reform and innovation of the local business environment, officials said.

The Harbin New Area was approved by the State Council in 2015 and is the only national new area that focuses on cooperation between China and Russia.

In 2019, 79.86 square kilometers of the new area included as part of the Heilongjiang FTZ.

Shouldering the mission of leading reform and opening-up in Heilongjiang and rebuilding Harbin's city and industrial structures, the new area is dedicated to exploring replicable experiences.

Over the years, the new area has drawn on the experiences of Shenzhen and Shanghai and implemented projects to improve industrial construction, bidding and registration for cross-region businesses.

An example is the Shenzhen-Harbin industrial park, located in the new area, that has used the practice of project bidding first demonstrated in Shenzhen.

Since its construction in 2019, the industrial park has attracted 177 registered companies, with an investment worth 7.05 billion yuan ($1.09 billion). It has signed intention agreements with 85 businesses including Shenzhen Ganwei Software and the Harbin Institute of Technology Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

Chen Yugang, deputy general manager of the industrial park, said the park is an exemplary collaboration between Harbin and Shenzhen, and has contributed to solving problems related to traditional industrial development in Northeast China, as well as exploring effective ways for boosting economic growth through cooperation between cities in North and South China.

Other measures that the area has learned from Shenzhen include streamlining administrative approvals, law enforcement and intelligent administrative services, according to Chen.

Thanks to the optimized and streamlined administration, the park was registered in one day, got a license in 36 days and began construction within 11 days, Chen said.

The industrial park has replicated 23 of Shenzhen's policies covering personal tax, industrial land and business services.

The moves have helped improve the new area's business environment, local officials said.

Zhen Changyu, an official on the administrative committee at the Harbin New Area, said the new area will continue to follow Shenzhen's examples in a bid to develop its own experiences and patterns to support cooperation between the two cities.

Zhen noted that the new area should accelerate the construction of the Harbin area of the Heilongjiang FTZ.

He said the new area should use the cooperation as an opportunity to help Shenzhen open the path for exporting to Far East Russia to explore new markets.

In March, the Harbin area of the Heilongjiang FTZ selected its top 10 innovative case studies in 2020, which were all initiatives of Heilongjiang province covering fields such as trade and investment facilitation, and financial services.

These cases have won good feedback from market players and have been replicated and promoted, local officials said.

To date, the Harbin area has developed 50 innovative practices, they said.

Ren Hailong, deputy director at the administrative committee of the Harbin area of the Heilongjiang FTZ, said: "Institutional innovation is the core task of the Harbin area.

"The area will constantly create more differentiated and innovative practices to provide Heilongjiang with replicated and promoted experiences and thus take a demonstrative role in the province's reform."