On August 26, 2010, the "Overall Development Plan for Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone" was approved, officially launching the development and opening of Qianhai. Over the past 15 years, Qianhai has consistently adhered to the principle of "relying on Hong Kong, serving the mainland, and facing the world," boldly exploring, testing, and innovating autonomously. The zone has achieved remarkable development in institutional innovation, Shenzhen-Hong Kong integration, and opening up to the outside world, becoming one of the "most concentrated and essential core engines" of reform and opening up in the new era.

**Sounding the Strongest Note of Reform and Innovation**

Reform serves as the source of power for Qianhai's development, while innovation represents the soul of its progress. To date, 99 of the 271 tasks proposed in the Qianhai Plan have been implemented, accounting for 36.5%, with 172 tasks being accelerated. The zone has achieved 105 institutional innovation results that have been replicated and promoted nationwide, ranking first in the national free trade pilot zone institutional innovation index for four consecutive years.

From pioneering enterprise establishment reforms such as "dual recording and signature" and "commercial registration administrative confirmation system," to exploring the formation of a new regional governance model featuring moderate separation between administrative and economic zones with overlapping advantages, clear boundaries, and equal rights and responsibilities, Qianhai has continued to innovate. The zone released China's first cross-border credit mutual recognition standard, explored the establishment of a fair competition committee, and enacted the nation's first regional investor protection regulation. It also took the lead in building a secure and convenient cross-border data channel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, established a cross-border data verification platform, and formed the country's first cross-border intellectual property alliance. These institutional innovation achievements serve as "golden keys" that have opened the door to high-quality development in Qianhai.

"Qianhai is not only a pioneer in policy implementation but also an amplifier for enterprises to dare to think and try. The high-quality government services in Qianhai, along with attention and support for corporate innovation, have provided strong backing for rapid enterprise development and fertile ground for our group's digital transformation," said Zhan Shaomei, co-founder and vice president of Shenzhen Chengcheng Holdings Group. The company has built a comprehensive service system covering raw material procurement, breeding upgrades, supply chain management, and terminal sales across three major sectors: egg product supply chain circulation, digital platform construction, and biotechnology research and development. With daily shipments exceeding 70,000 items, the company serves over 65,000 farms and channel customers nationwide, becoming a leading enterprise in China's egg industry.

Currently, Qianhai has over 200,000 registered enterprises, gathering 11 unicorn companies and 2,084 national high-tech enterprises. Qianhai has gradually built a modern industrial system led by modern service industries and supported by strategic emerging industries, featuring Qianhai characteristics, Shenzhen-Hong Kong distinctiveness, and comparative advantages.

Data shows that in 2024, the added value of modern service industries in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone reached 188.44 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%, accounting for 63% of Qianhai's regional GDP. In the first half of this year, it grew by 8.7% year-on-year, accounting for 65.5%.

Li Xiang, a researcher at the 21st Century China Research Center at Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), noted that Qianhai has broken through institutional barriers and expanded through openness. Through deep coupling of institutional innovation and reform and opening up, it has continuously activated development momentum, forming a positive cycle model of "openness-innovation-growth" with distinctive Qianhai characteristics.

Today, Qianhai has become one of China's fastest-developing, highest-quality, and most efficient regions. Data shows that in 2024, the Qianhai Cooperation Zone's actual use of foreign investment reached 26.65 billion yuan, and fixed asset investment totaled 169.1 billion yuan, representing 117 times and 93 times the initial amounts respectively. In the first half of this year, Qianhai achieved a regional GDP of 145.52 billion yuan. The "new look every year" Qianhai continues to maintain a vibrant development momentum.

**Strengthening the Bridgehead of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Integration**

Qianhai was born from Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation and thrives through their joint efforts. Over the past 15 years, Qianhai has consistently prioritized promoting integrated development between Shenzhen and Hong Kong as its primary task.

In recent years, Qianhai has jointly released policy measures with Hong Kong in areas such as intellectual property and venture capital investment. It pioneered the practice of "Hong Kong capital, Hong Kong law" and "Hong Kong capital, Hong Kong arbitration," extending these practices to mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. The zone has piloted Hong Kong's engineering construction management model, opened cross-border buses, maritime passenger services, and cross-border helicopter routes between Hong Kong and Macao, and established nine international schools with 2,200 Hong Kong students, accounting for 40% of the total enrollment. By creating internationalized districts with Hong Kong style and flavor and promoting the alignment of life service industry rules between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the two places have gradually achieved deep integration in economic, social, and livelihood fields.

Langsi Sensing Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. achieved explosive growth from "zero to one" in just nearly five years, becoming a cutting-edge technology enterprise with tens of millions of yuan in revenue and an annual compound growth rate of 80%. "Qianhai's appeal lies not only in its strong innovation atmosphere and comprehensive business facilities but also in the mature ecosystem it has created for Hong Kong entrepreneurs—with precise policy support and convenient Shenzhen-Hong Kong collaboration," said Dr. Xu Ke, founder of Langsi Technology. Currently, the company has 11 employees from Hong Kong and Macao, with deep integration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong teams forming a unique innovation gene. Langsi Technology continues to break through in ultra-high sensitivity laser sensing technology research and application, accumulating 28 patents and successfully expanding product applications from early single environmental monitoring to energy and hydrogen energy sectors.

The Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub, where Langsi Technology is located, has become the preferred destination for Hong Kong youth to innovate and start businesses in the mainland. In 2024, marking the 10th anniversary of the Dream Factory, the "1510" plan was officially launched, featuring "1 yuan innovation workshop, 500 million yuan funding support, and 100,000 square meters of industrial space" to serve Hong Kong-funded enterprises and help Hong Kong youth realize their dreams.

As of July 31 this year, the Dream Factory hosts 535 teams, having cumulatively cultivated and incubated 79 national high-tech enterprises. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition has been held for nine consecutive years, with over 2,500 Hong Kong projects participating cumulatively.

On July 6, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Application Scenario Innovation Center (Qianhai) was officially unveiled. Positioned to build a comprehensive, full-element application scenario innovation center, it aims to solve the "last mile" problem of technology innovation implementation. Through strengthening collaboration with platforms such as the Dream Factory, the "Shenzhen-Hong Kong Hub" dual headquarters base, and the Qianhai Going Global e-Platform, it explores the "Hong Kong R&D + Qianhai verification + Bay Area promotion" model to help build the Greater Bay Area into a global industrial technology innovation center.

For Hong Kong and Macao professionals, "recognition of professional qualifications" was once the primary obstacle preventing them from practicing and developing in the mainland. In recent years, Qianhai has deeply promoted cross-border practice facilitation, piloting the expansion of cross-border convenient practice scope to ease restrictions for Hong Kong and Macao professionals practicing in Qianhai.

Currently, Qianhai has issued practice registration management measures for engineering construction, tax services, cultural tourism, and other fields. Twenty-six types of Hong Kong and Macao professionals, including registered architects, tax advisors, and tour guides, can practice conveniently in Qianhai, with a cumulative total of 1,147 people completing registration. Currently, over 12,000 Hong Kong residents work and live in Qianhai.

In February this year, the "Qianhai Construction of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Deep Integration Development Leading Zone 2025 Action Plan" was issued, striving to make employment and living more convenient for Hong Kong residents in Qianhai, continuously strengthen rule alignment and mechanism integration with Hong Kong and Macao, significantly advance market integration, and accelerate the implementation of landmark projects with strong driving effects.

**Creating a Preferred Destination for International Cooperation**

Openness never stops, and innovation has no end. Qianhai insists on implementing high-level opening up to the outside world, continuously deepening institutional opening in finance, cross-border data, medical care, and other fields, striving to create the best connection point for domestic and international dual circulation.

In the trade sector, Qianhai pioneered models such as "first-line direct access and intelligent supervision" nationwide. Foreign-invested value-added telecommunications enterprises have been approved to conduct telecommunications business, and overseas artworks have achieved bonded display in Qianhai. The Qianhai United Trading Center has achieved cumulative cross-border RMB settlement exceeding 100 billion yuan.

In the shipping sector, Qianhai actively promotes the reform of the "China Qianhai" port of registry international ship registration system. Experiences such as "innovative terminal port transit convenient customs clearance mode" have been replicated and promoted nationwide. Qianhai was approved as the nation's first customs-approved water yacht bonded port area, with Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao yacht "free travel" trips accounting for 98% of the Greater Bay Area.

In the financial sector, Qianhai actively promotes the implementation of "30 Financial Support Measures for Qianhai," forming 14 nationwide "first" and "first batch" innovation results such as "non-landing foreign exchange purchase." Multiple "first nationwide" financial institutions have been established, including the nation's first "dual license" bank. Cross-border receipts and payments through Qianhai Free Trade (FT) accounts have reached 1.15 trillion yuan. Over 500 financial institutions have settled in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Financial City.

"Certainty of reform" has become a "reassurance pill" for foreign investment to take root in Qianhai. Data shows that in the first half of this year, actual use of foreign investment in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone reached 12.326 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.9%, accounting for 59% of Shenzhen's total. Currently, over 12,000 foreign-invested enterprises have settled in Qianhai, with 3,316 foreign talents working in Qianhai and 5,354 foreign talents living in Qianhai, accounting for 20% of Shenzhen's total.

While actively "bringing in," Qianhai also focuses on promoting enterprises to "go out." On July 25, 2024, the Shenzhen Enterprise Overseas Comprehensive Service Platform—Qianhai Going Global e-Platform was officially launched.

He Yang, head of the Qianhai Going Global e-Platform, said the platform brings together over 200 professional service organizations, providing comprehensive services for enterprises going global, including investment consulting, financial and tax services, legal intellectual property, human resources, certification and testing, warehousing and logistics, overseas site selection, and brand promotion. The platform has served over 100 cases cumulatively and established cooperative relationships with 40 overseas parks, covering 32 countries and regions. Currently, over 20,000 enterprises are registered online on the platform, with cumulative visits exceeding 520,000.

He Yang introduced that as of the first half of this year, the platform has organized 240 enterprises to participate in various Hong Kong and Macao exhibition activities five times, facilitating 11 cooperation intentions worth over 200 million yuan; promoted 46 investment projects to Hong Kong with a total amount of 600 million US dollars; successfully helped over 60 enterprises from eight regions including Hunan, Jiangsu, Hebei, and Xiamen embark on international journeys; and through the "park + enterprise" precise matching model, assisted overseas parks in connecting with 20 enterprises with investment intentions.

Founded in 2017, Shenzhen Qianhai Yueshi Information Technology Co., Ltd. has now grown into a comprehensive global agricultural product cold chain supply chain technology platform integrating information, trading, logistics, finance, and robotics. "The Qianhai Management Bureau provides support for our company's overseas expansion from multiple dimensions including industrial cooperation, capital connection, and policy support," said Shi Weiqi, rotating chairman of Qianhai Yueshi. In the first half of this year, the company's business revenue increased by over 151% year-on-year, serving over 57 million tons of global cold chain park capacity with the world's largest digital cold chain market share.

Next, the company plans to establish 15 overseas service centers in countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative and the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) region. Through the "digital foundation + intelligent equipment" model, it will build a digital infrastructure network covering global agricultural product production areas, promoting Chinese specialty agricultural products to "go out" and high-quality foreign agricultural products to "come in."

"We will continue to enhance Qianhai's Hong Kong flavor, international style, coastal scenery, modernization, and sense of the future, focusing on building an international service circle, creating an international innovation circle, developing an international living circle, and expanding our international circle of friends," said Wang Shouwei, Standing Committee Member of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, Secretary of the Qianhai Cooperation Zone Party Working Committee, and Secretary and Director of the Qianhai Management Bureau Party Group. Qianhai will continue to optimize foreign investment services, strengthen and optimize the Qianhai Going Global e-Platform, help enterprises better explore international markets, improve and build a Qianhai industrial innovation ecosystem supported by Hong Kong university transformation platforms, continuously enhance industrial development capabilities and international competitiveness, improve Qianhai's internationalization level, and deepen foreign cooperation and exchanges.