CRI听力:Qianhai to Attract More Hong Kong Business for Development

A policy presentation fostering Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cooperation in Qianhai has been made to more than 800 representatives of Hong Kong's commercial, industrial and professional sectors.

Qianhai, a 15-square kilometer area off Shenzhen, is just an hour's drive from Hong Kong.

It's been a special economic zone since 2010.

Lv Ruifeng, the executive vice-Mayor of Shenzhen, says Qianhai not only provides physical space for Hong Kong businesses to expand, it's also a location which can foster innovation.

"We have established the Enterprise Dream Park to help young people from Hong Kong start their business in Qianhai. It's the first of its kind nationwide. The base can host more than 200 companies. In addition to capital support, start-ups don't have to pay rent for the first year. Fees for the 2nd year are also cut in half."

Shenzhen's vice-Mayor also says Qianhai is building up a business environment similar to Hong Kong.

He says this includes applying Hong Kong's legal system for arbitrations, as well as providing cross-border legal consulting.

Zhang Bei, who's the man tapped with overseeing the overall development of Qianhai, says the Special Economic Zone can help mainland companies go abroad, while at the same time, give foreign companies a chance to enter the mainland market.

"This year, we're encouraging Hong Kong companies in Qianhai to increase their commercial and trade cooperation with countries along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. We will help them make trips to these countries and launch demonstrations there to attract more investment, nurture more talent and expand their global market."

The maritime silk road is the Chinese government's new concept to further open up China to countries in both South and Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

At the same time, authorities in Qianhai are also working on setting up a duty-free zone to eliminate parallel-trading through Hong Kong.

Parallel trading is essentially the smuggling of items from Hong Kong into the mainland market, which are then sold without going through customs.

The Qianhai Special Economic Zone is already home to around a thousand Hong Kong companies with a combined market cap of some 230-billion US Dollars.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.