Shenzhen at 30 – What’s next for the nation’s special economic zone?

Deng Xiaoping Portrait Square is now a local iconic sight in Shenzhen. Wu Huijun/IC Photo

By Huang Daohen

August 26 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the country’s first batch of special economic zones. Shenzhen was one of them, and the gvernment is now mapping out how the city should develop in the years to come.

For developed countries, 30 years isn’t long enough for any significant change to take root. But for Shenzhen, these last 30 years have been trnsformative. What was a small fishing village turned it into an economic marvel in ways completely unprecedented in the history of modernization.

An article in Hong Kong-based Asia Times pointed out that there aren’t many world cities with more than 10 million residents, but there’s certainly only one that had a population of only 20,000 three decades ago: ShenzhenOn August 26, 1980, the central government granted Shenzhen privileges as a special economic zone, putting it in a class of its own. The city was supposed to be an experiment in market economy and open to the outside world.

Since then, the city has seen an unparalleled average annual growth rate of 28 percent.

Recently, Shenzhen set a GDP target of 1.5 trillion yuan by 2015, the People’s Dail reported, with the annual per capita income increasing from 29,000 yuan to 49,000 yuan.

Analysis

What is next for Shenzhen?

Shenzhen’s development is of critical importance to China’s policy of opening up to the outside world, said Chen Jun, an editor at Xinhua News Agency.

But Chen said the next step for Shenzhen is to lead a round of administrative reforms.

For decades, centralized government was the key feature of the country’s administrative system. But since Shenzhen as created in the free enterprise model, the government’s role in this aspect is being challenged, Chen said. “Without further political reform, Shenzhen could jeopardize its economic achievements.Chen said Shenzhen needs to learn from its neighbors, like Hong Kong and Singapore, and reposition the government’s role to build an effective supervisory mechanism. But administrative reform is easier said than done. “Therefore, the Shenzhen municipal governmen could be a proving ground for reform,” Chen said. “And Shenzhen should also be a model of success in this regard.