Zhuhai SEZ's growth strategy: Act fast for the future

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Any Special Economic Zone in China demonstrates tremendous changes the country has seen in 40 years.

Zhuhai, a city in south China's Guangdong Province, presents a similar example. It is one of the country's first SEZs set up almost four decades ago. The mission was simple – to develop and think outside of the box to grow.

"There were a few poor fishing villages," said the locals while recalling the development process.

A humble beginning looks familiar to other SEZs, as they were mostly launched in coastal areas. Many in the area did turn to the sea for food, living on whatever they get through the trips on small fishing boats.

Zhuhai's GDP in 1980 was around 260 million yuan (39.98 million US dollars). In 2017, however, the city recorded 250 billion yuan (38.45 billion US dollars) in GDP.

The city is open to new things as seen from the banners and signs, which appears to encourage further development.

CFP Photo

The innovative steps the city took in the past included setting-up the country's first processing enterprise in an unprecedented "Processing and Compensation Trade" mode. It was also the first in the country to have a foreign-invested, joint-venture hotel.

CFP Photo

Wang Li, with a national Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) platform, the Hengqin International Intellectual Property Rights Exchange Center, told CGTN that the center was finally set up in Zhuhai instead of other mega-cities in the country.

It is partly because local government anticipated the importance of IPs for companies and growth, envisioning synergy coming from them. She said there is a massive investment in industry and business sectors for the future.

CFP Photo

Tian Feng, founder and CEO of Phomera Metamaterials that develops so-called super-materials, had come back from Harvard and Cambridge to start his business in Zhuhai.

"There is nothing to worry about policies and procedures. Local governments make efforts to encourage and facilitate startups," he said, adding that his company now works on concepts of "efficiency" and "look back so you can better look forward."

(Huang Yi, Chen Bo also contributed to the story.)