Foreign investment in Shenzhen's Qianhai exceeds $40b

BEIJING -- Foreign companies have invested over $40 billion in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone (shortened as Qianhai), according to a local official.

"Global investors are seizing a new round of opportunities arising from the development of new quality productive forces," Wang Jinxia, deputy director of the Qianhai Authority, told China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk platform hosted by Xinhua News Agency.

First introduced in 2023, new quality productive forces refer to advanced productivity freed from the traditional economic growth mode and productivity development paths. It features high-tech, high efficiency and high quality.

Official data shows that Qianhai, situated in the southern metropolis of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, is now home to over 10,000 foreign-invested firms.

Wang noted that as China remains the world's largest market, the development of new quality productive forces continues to generate market demand, attracting a growing number of global investors.

The development of new quality productive forces enables global investors to play a greater role in the latest round of technological revolution and globalization, Wang said.

Looking ahead, Wang added that Qianhai would work to elevate its institutional opening up, and cooperation and innovation efforts to higher levels.

"We are poised to transform Qianhai into a powerhouse driving China's high-quality development by accumulating global resources, advancing innovation, and pursuing coordinated growth," he said.

China's State Council released a development plan in 2010, aiming to build Qianhai into a demonstration zone for modern service industry innovation and cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Years into its development, Qianhai is now renowned for its roles as an airport and seaport hub, a venue for conventions and exhibitions, and as a provider of modern services.