A view of Shenzhen Park in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong sci-tech innovation cooperation zone. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By ZONG Shihan

China has unveiled a plan for the Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, aiming to build the cooperation zone into a highly influential international center of sci-tech innovation.

The plan, recently released by the State Council, focuses on pushing forward the high-quality construction of Shenzhen Park to top-level standards, and synergistic development with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) section in a mutually complementary manner.

Setting construction goals

An efficient Shenzhen-Hong Kong technology synergetic innovation mechanism will be established by 2025, and a synergetic innovation configuration will be formed by 2035, developing the area into a world-class science research hub, according to the plan.

Located in a natural convergence between the northern part of the HKSAR and the central southern part of Shenzhen, the cooperation zone covers about 3.89 square kilometers.

It's only a thirty-minute drive from Shenzhen Park to the City University of Hong Kong(CityU), said Chen Furong, chair professor of Materials Science and Engineering of CityU, who conducts research in Shenzhen Park, emphasizing the advantageous geographical location of the cooperation zone.

Shenzhen Park has attracted a total of 10 high-quality scientific research projects from five universities, including the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, since Shenzhen and the HKSAR launched sci-tech innovation cooperation in 2017. With the implementation of phased development goals, the construction of the cooperation zone will enter a new stage.

Focusing on mutual benefits

The cooperation zone is the only unique platform in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with the theme of sci-tech innovation and has many advantages of cooperative development.

The plan has clarified three orientations of Shenzhen Park, namely the Shenzhen-Hong Kong sci-tech innovation open cooperation pilot zone, the international advanced sci-tech innovation rule pilot zone, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area pilot-scale tests  and  transformation  cluster  zone.

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) will give full play to the strengths of the HKSAR and Shenzhen to cooperate in various aspects such as science and technology projects, talent cultivation, and technology finance, said Lin Xin, secretary general of the MOST.

Promoting internationalization

To tackle the bottleneck of cooperation and promote the internationalization of cooperation, the plan outlines four key tasks for the zone: working with the HKSAR to promote international sci-tech innovation, establishing industrial pilot bases, creating an international mechanism for sci-tech innovation, and constructing a global platform for sci-tech cooperation.

The promulgation of the development plan injects new momentum into the collaboration on technology and innovation development by the two places, said John Lee, chief executive of the HKSAR.