Shenzhen is the new focus

Shenzhen started as a rural area but has been developed into a mega city in just 40 years’ time. Shenzhen is blooming and its economy already surpassed Hong Kong in 2018. Due to its success, China is very open to exploring policies and practices to support innovation in the bustling city with the goal of replicating it to other cities across China. Beijing has given their support and endorsement to make Shenzhen the role model city.

This article calls to light an ambitious project known as the Greater Area Bay blueprint. This plan aims to transform Hong Kong and 10 other Guangdong cities into a combined economic powerhouse, with Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Guangzhou identified as the four pillars of development. While Hong Kong is intended to remain a financial powerhouse, Shenzhen’s star continues to rise and its economy, powered by manufacturing and innovation, will remain a central focus within the plan.

As companies consider the future of Shenzhen, they may need to rethink their business and talent strategies in order to take advantage of the new plan. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the inbound flow of talent into Shenzhen and whether companies redirect talent from places like Shanghai and Beijing to Shenzhen. There may be multiple benefits to this redirection as Shenzhen still offers economical living versus Shanghai while the economy in Shenzhen continues to bloom.