The State Council recently released the Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Shenzhen‑Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co‑operation Zone (“Hetao Plan”). Under the plan, a pattern of collaborative innovation between the Shenzhen and Hong Kong parks will be fully established by 2035. This will promote the internationalization of sci-tech innovation to world-leading status, which will bring more new opportunities for Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation and further promote high-quality innovation and technology (I&T) development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area).
Lillian Cheong
SZ-HK Cooperation to Bring Together World-class Resources and Connect Greater Bay Area to Create International I&T Platform
The State Council in late August this year released a plan aimed at better aligning the development of the Shenzhen Park and that of the Hong Kong Park under the Hetao Shenzhen‑Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone. According to the plan, the Shenzhen Park is set to work with the Hong Kong Park to create an international sci-tech innovation platform. Hong Kong’s Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau is also making every effort to push forward the planning, layout and functional improvements of the Hong Kong Park, striving to attract more world-class scientific research companies to move in.
The release of the plan further reflects the country’s emphasis on the Hetao zone. Lillian Cheong, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, pointed out that the Chief Executive, upon assuming office last year, stated to conduct a study on accelerating the development and functional improvements of the Hong Kong Park. Following the preliminary completion of the first phase of land use planning and layout, the relevant development roadmap and strategic direction have been formulated, getting fully ready to attract investment.
Expanding industry-university-research development and creating a base for pilot-scale tests and transformation
Cheong stressed that the HKSAR Government has specially planned an industry-university-research area in the Hong Kong Park to combine policies and the strengths of Shenzhen and Hong Kong in I&T, and together with some groundbreaking policy support, create a world-class international industry-university-research platform in Hetao. “The plan for the development of the Shenzhen Park also clearly stated that I&T development in the Hetao zone will reach leading international level. It will also promote support for the emerging strategic industries stated in the “14th Five-Year” Plan for key development, which will help build the Hetao zone into an internationally competitive base for industrial pilot-scale tests and transformation.”
Cheong added that the aforesaid development directions are in line with the development areas mentioned in the I&T Development Blueprint released by the HKSAR Government last year. And the Hetao zone is the best place to successfully transform these technologies for pilot-scale tests.
Multiple unique advantages to attract companies at home and abroad
Cheong said that the Hetao zone is set to become a testing ground for the country to pioneer policy and institutional innovation. In conjunction with the future exclusive cross-border policies to ensure a more convenient and smoother flow of people, materials, capital and information, this will help bring together world-class I&T resources such as talents, networks, capital and technologies.
Taking the bio-health field as an example, Cheong said that the new Policy Address stated to set up the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute to align with the Shenzhen Park in co-developing clinical trials. She expressed hope that the Chamber’s members would learn more about the Government’s layout and planning of the Hetao zone, actively integrate into the country’s overall development, and participate in the development of the Hetao zone to promote the zone at home and abroad.
Helping Hong Kong to attract companies and drive talents to join
With its full-speed development, the Hetao zone will aim to become the engine of the international sci-tech innovation hub in the area. Cheong stressed that this unique international sci-tech innovation platform not only has international advantages, but also can drive overseas companies to directly enter the huge Mainland market, which will also greatly boost the HKSAR Government’s progress in attracting companies and talents.
Cheong revealed that many companies have moved to Hong Kong between October and early December this year. They include a technologically advanced semiconductor chip company, a new-energy company with a market value of over HKD1 trillion, and a company that is leading the way in high-level self-driving computing solutions for new-energy vehicles in mainland China and even internationally. The companies that have moved to Hong Kong in these three months alone are set to bring an economic contribution of at least HKD13 billion and over 1,000 high-quality job opportunities to Hong Kong in the next five years.
In Cheong’s view, as more industry-university-research institutes and areas are set up in the Hetao zone to promote Hong Kong’s rapid establishment of I&T industry system, they could attract leaders in their respective technical fields to bring projects, technologies and teams to Hong Kong for R&D, and industry-university-research transformation and application development. In conjunction with the HKSAR Government’s all-round approach to strengthen the nurturing of I&T talents from primary schools to universities, it will enable more outstanding talents to spread their wings and use their potential to the fullest in Hong Kong.
Peter Mok
Shenzhen and Hong Kong Join Hands to Create Global I&T Hub
Since the signing of the cooperation framework agreement between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in September 2021, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (“HKSTP”) has gone ahead full steam to construct the Shenzhen branch of Hong Kong Science Park in Futian, Shenzhen and develop it into an important location for “attracting foreign investment and going global”, enticing Hong Kong and the world’s top companies, capital and talents to tap into the Mainland market, while assisting high-quality Mainland technology companies and talents to get into the international arena.
Promote I&T cooperation for mutual reinforcement of strengths
With the release of the Hetao Plan, Peter Mok, Head of Greater Bay Area at HKSTP, is convinced that the relevant measures will further strengthen I&T cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong as well as in the entire Greater Bay Area, leverage the mutual reinforcement of strengths between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and work with the cities in the area to become better and stronger. “The superb location of the Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen branch will help facilitate and strengthen cooperation between Hong Kong and Mainland companies, encourage technology companies in both places to use Hong Kong’s advantages to ‘attract foreign investment and go global’, entice more companies to settle in, and expand the I&T ecosystem.”
Mok explained that based on its experience accumulated over more than 20 years, Hong Kong Science Park will apply its operating model to the Shenzhen branch to provide companies with facilities that help with flexibility and adaptability as well as all-round support services, including business development, public listing and financing, and talent recruitment and nurturing, etc., to create a core tech ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area and support companies in exploring opportunities in the Greater Bay Area.
Support development of deep technology to capture development opportunities
“Hong Kong Science Park, which has a complete I&T ecosystem, can extend its practical and all-round support strategies to the Greater Bay Area to help companies in the park resolve operational and business issues.” Mok said frankly that I&T development cannot rely on science and technology parks alone, but must build on the solid foundation established by Hong Kong to work with the cities in the Greater Bay Area to connect all the ecosystem stakeholders and strive to achieve synergies from mutual complementarity.
Mok stressed that HKSTP will focus on promoting internationalization and deep technology. “For internationalization, HKSTP will leverage Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ advantages and play its role as a hub for exchanges between China and the West to connect Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, the country and the world. Regarding deep technology, we will focus on supporting fields such as medical technology, big data and AI, robotics technology, new materials, microelectronics and fintech to help promote government-industry-academia-research cooperation in the Greater Bay Area.”
Create world-class innovation platform in conjunction with Hetao Plan
Looking ahead, Mok pointed out that the Hetao Plan has presented several measures covering different aspects such as the development orientation, goals, overall layout and infrastructure arrangement of the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Shenzhen‑Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co‑operation Zone, as well as how to collaborate with Hong Kong to promote international sci-tech innovation. All of these will help promote high-quality I&T development in the Greater Bay Area, and build the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone into a world-class innovation platform and an important engine for I&T development in surrounding cities.
He also said that while continuing to support Hong Kong in I&T at full-speed and realize its international I&T hub vision, HKSTP will also actively align with strategic plans such as those for the four zones of the Northern Metropolis and the San Tin Technopole, collaborate with the cities in the Greater Bay Area and get connected to the international community to create a global sci-tech innovation hub.
