Shenzhen has set its GDP growth target at around 6% for 2022, Mayor Qin Weizhong said as he delivered a government work report at the opening meeting of the annual session of the city’s legislature at the Civic Center in Futian District yesterday.
Other main targets for socioeconomic development include a 5% growth in both the city’s general public budget revenue and the added value of industrial enterprises above designated scale, surveyed urban unemployment rate kept at no more than 5.5%, and the CPI increase — the main gauge for inflation — limited to less than 3%.
The city also aims for a steady growth in residents’ per capita disposable income and accomplishing its energy saving and emission reduction goals, as per the government work report.
According to the report, Shenzhen will complete the first batch of comprehensive authorized reform measures and set about introducing the second batch this year. It will comprehensively deepen the reform and opening up of Qianhai, forge closer ties among Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao, and actively promote coordinated regional development.
The city will focus on improving its innovation capabilities, with efforts such as increasing investment in basic research, launching over 50 new projects to make breakthroughs in key and core technologies, and supporting multinational companies to set up R&D centers in Shenzhen.
Qin said Shenzhen will bolster strategic emerging industries, make steady headway in building advanced manufacturing parks, promote the implementation of major industrial projects, and strive to improve the quality of market players.
The city will invest 220 billion yuan (US$34.54 billion) in infrastructure and 100 billion yuan in new infrastructure throughout the year, and work to build the city into an international consumption center and a national commerce hub.
In addition, Shenzhen will endeavor to become a first-class livable city, transportation hub, resilient city, and smart city, and build a modern environmental governance system, a green and low-carbon circular development system, and a modern energy system.
The city will also add 200,000 school seats for basic education, two top-level hospitals and 1,200 hospital beds, and prepare and build 110,000 public housing units this year.
Shenzhen’s GDP witnessed a growth of 6.7% year on year to reach 3.07 trillion yuan in 2021, according to the work report.
The government report delivered by Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong at the opening meeting of the city’s legislature yesterday has triggered heated discussions from all walks of life.
The report, which was submitted to the city’s legislature for deliberation, gave a review of the city government’s work in 2021 and provided a blueprint for Shenzhen’s development in 2022.
Huang Wei, Party chief of Futian District, said at a group meeting of the Futian delegation yesterday that the government work report is one with ideals and feelings, and reflects the city’s missions and aspirations.
Huang said the report is also wide-ranging and substantive. “It also resonated with the deputies as I heard 13 rounds of applause when the report was delivered.”
“As a lawyer, I feel deeply impressed by the report, which fully reflects the determination and confidence of the city government in the construction of a city ruled by law,” said Zhang Lijie, a deputy in the Futian delegation.
Zhang suggested that the city beef up efforts in training foreign-related legal service talents and public legal education.
Ma Jian, CEO of biotech firm XtalPi, said he has noticed Shenzhen’s heavy investment in science and technology in the report, with elaborations especially for the biomedical industry.
“It also introduces and shows Shenzhen’s work layout in basic research, innovation ecological chain, Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation in science and technology and talent,” Ma said.
Leo Liu, executive chairman of the Canada Confederation of Shenzhen Association, told Shenzhen Daily that he was impressed by the government work report delivered by the mayor.
Liu was invited as a special guest to attend the Second Session of the Seventh Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the city’s political advisory body.
“As an overseas Chinese engaged in international tech innovation, I feel deeply about the part where Shenzhen is giving full play to the whole-process innovation ecological chain and building a globally influential sci-tech and industrial innovation highland,” he said.
According to Liu, despite the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade frictions and the impact of COVID-19, Shenzhen has made great progress in international sci-tech innovation cooperation, as well as many meaningful attempts and initiatives in actively integrating into the global innovation network.
Liu suggested that Shenzhen learn from the development experience of innovative cities in other global bay areas, focus on applied innovation, connect with world-class universities and sci-tech innovation institutions and build a world-class advanced technology application and promotion platform.
“Shenzhen should also attract talents in applied science and leading technologies from across the world, and create an internationally competitive innovation ecosystem,” Liu added.