China's Xi backs more powerful property rights, protections for entrepreneurs in Shenzhen
15 October, 2020
Shenzhen will strengthen property rights and protection of entrepreneurs, China's President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday (Oct 14) in a speech to mark the establishment of the country's first financial zone in the southern city four decades earlier.
In his speech, Xi praised the town for "achieving miracles" and said it "must carry out development with the courage to break ground also to make an effort to be the first."
A testing ground for the reforms that have spurred China's high-paced growth over the last four decades, Xi touted Shenzhen as symbolic of China's emergence as a worldwide economic power.
The Shenzhen government will get more leeway to pursue reforms and become a "model city for a strong socialist country," Xi said.
Last Sunday, the federal government published plans to increase foreign investment in the town, motivate foreign talent, and reduce red tape in sectors including energy and telecoms.
Xi also alluded to "turbulence" in the global economy from rising protectionism and unilateralism, and emphasized that China would pursue a "dual circulation" model that relies more on domestic consumption while attracting foreign investment.
The speech in Shenzhen followed visits to nearby cities Chaozhou and Shantou, where Xi emphasized professional upgrades and innovation.
Carrie Lam, the leader of the adjacent territory of Hong Kong, attended the speech, after announcing on Monday that she was postponing a twelve-monthly policy address scheduled for that day, as did Ho Iat Seng, the principle executive of Macau.
Xi's speech occurred in the Qianhai district, which is positioning itself as a hub for cross-border services for the Greater Bay Area, an area which includes Hong Kong, Macau, and nine cities in China's Guangdong province, including Shenzhen.
Xi's speech needed further exchanges between the two territories and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and to "strengthen their sense of belonging with the motherland."
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