Plans exist to integrate Asia’s financial capital, Hong Kong, with Asia’s tech capital, Shenzhen. Time to accelerate that operation for the benefits it will bring, argues Herman Hu, writing from the Two Sessions meeting in Beijing.
ASIA’S FINANCIAL CAPITAL and tech capital are teaming up.
The dynamism of Hong Kong and Shenzhen are set to combine in a project known as the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, part of China’s 14th Five Year Plan.
The time has come to focus some real energy on this exciting project, which deserves to be seriously accelerated.
Moving ahead at speed with this will make this twin-city tech center a major addition to the innovation landscape not just in the Greater Bay Area of China, but the wider world.
We can develop a world-class international advanced technology transformation center, shared between this pair of powerhouse cities.
CLEAR RANGE OF BENEFITS
This center will provide a clear range of benefits, including synchronized management and improved services, plus ongoing technical training. It can also establish effective incentive systems to encourage an innovative culture, and launch matching grants to support basic research and technology transformation.
On a wider scale, the center will formulate innovative policy measures, collaboratively developing a unified intellectual property system for the long term.
This will promote more efficient collaboration among talented people in the innovation and technology sphere, as well as boosting enterprises, fund-raising, development of materials, and handling of data.
Best of all, it will also deepen the integration between industry, academia, and research – which will further boost innovation in a virtuous circle.
THE NEED TO THINK BIG
But it’s important that we think big. The temptation will be to take the easy route, co-operating with just our near neighbors. We can start by building collaborations between Hong Kong and Mainland universities, research institutions and enterprises, but we need to recognize that that is just the beginning.
The world is a big place, and it’s vital that we recruit top foreign universities, research institutions and multi-national corporations to participate in our projects. The new shared center between Hong Kong and Shenzhen can be an innovation hub for the world, not just the Greater Bay Area.
Ultimately, this will drive the successful transformation of technological achievements into commercially valuable applications, contributing to the development of the country’s goal.
China is on its way to becoming a science and technology powerhouse for the world.
Professor Herman Hu Shao-ming is a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress of China, and chairman of Friday Culture, parent company of fridayeveryday.
Image at the top from Google Maps, 2021.