Shenzhen is accelerating the creation of a market-oriented, rule of law and internationalized business environment.

The southern China city, a fertile ground for innovation and widely known as China’s tech hub, has been recognized as the city with the best business environment by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce for three consecutive years. 

In this booming city, vitality and hope pervade every corner, nurturing dreams and aspirations.

"In the face of weak global economic growth, China is speeding up seeking a new development pattern and strengthening the business environment. Our market advantages will become more prominent. I hope foreign investors seize the opportunity to come to China, come to Guangdong, come to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and deeply explore the Chinese market, creating a new era of development for their enterprises," said President Xi Jinping during his visit to Guangdong in April 2023. 

Official figures show that Shenzhen has a cumulative total of approximately 4.08 million commercial entities, with an entrepreneurial density of 232.39 entities per 1,000 people. 

The total number of business entities and entrepreneurial density are at the forefront in the country, with over 8,600 specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products. 

In August 2023, Shenzhen unveiled three work plans to optimize the city’s business environment, aiming to build a  market-oriented, rule of law and internationalized environment for businesses,  stimulate market vitality, enhance growth momentum and quality, and increase the attractiveness of the city to investors.

Officials in Shenzhen believe that the city’s business environment can always be improved, with no limits. With steadfast determination, Shenzhen actively fosters a stable, fair, transparent and predictable world-class business environment, promoting high-quality economic development.

Market-oriented vigor through service optimization

As the mechanized system lifts and the forklift slowly rises, accurately placing the cargo on a shelf 5.8 meters high, VisionNav Robotics' laboratory in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone in Futian is bustling. 

Multiple unmanned forklifts operate simultaneously, with one front-moving unmanned forklift standing out due to its impressive lifting height of 7 meters.

"It takes just a 10-minute walk from our office to reach the laboratory. Being able to work and develop products in such a great place would not have been possible without the government’s assistance," Li Luyang, co-founder and CEO of VisionNav Robotics, spoke of the laboratory. 

"The government understands enterprises, technology, and research and development, and all the work they do is excellent." 

Li Luyang praised the government's service to enterprises, saying, "Not only did the government help us find an office location, but they also provided us with rent subsidies.”

Li Luyang, co-founder and CEO of VisionNav Robotics.

He said that after moving to the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, the number of employees in our company has increased fivefold, and the company's valuation has continually risen."

XtalPi Inc., a pharmaceutical technology company powered by artificial intelligence and robotics to improve the speed, scale, novelty, and success rate of drug discovery and development, is also located in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone.

The artificial intelligence drug discovery company ultimately chose to establish its 12,000-square-meter research and development center in Shenzhen. 

"A first-class business environment is Shenzhen's most shining hallmark. We are an enterprise that thrives on innovation, and Shenzhen's abundant talent pool, industrial ecosystem, innovation atmosphere and policies are the main reasons that attracted us," said CEO Ma Jian.

To create a first-class market-oriented business environment and inject more vitality into business entities, Shenzhen has issued a series of policy documents in recent years, including 23 measures to promote high-quality development of enterprises and 33 measures to support the high-quality development of self-employed households.

In the first seven months of 2023, Shenzhen added 330,000 new commercial entities, a 27% increase compared with a year go. The Shenzhen Credit Service Platform has facilitated over 100 billion yuan (US$13.74 billion) in financing for enterprises to date, with 88% of it being inclusive micro and small loans.

According to officials from the Shenzhen Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, in the first half of 2023, Shenzhen continued to lead the country by issuing nearly 2.9 billion yuan worth of 12 knowledge-based securities products. 

High-quality development through rule of law

At the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration in Futian, lotus patterns symbolizing impartiality, harmony and win-win scenarios can be seen everywhere.

Contrary to expectations, the atmosphere is not tense, with each side holding their own opinions. Under the leadership of the arbitrator, the parties involved in the dispute set aside their differences, shake hands and express their willingness to continue cooperating in the international market. Such scenes are almost a daily occurrence in the arbitration chambers of the court.

The Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration has become a "golden business card" symbolizing Shenzhen's rule of law-oriented business environment. 

Among the court’s current 1,547 arbitrators, 569 are from overseas, accounting for 36.78% of the total and covering 114 countries and regions. 

In 2022, the total disputes involved in arbitration cases reached 127.2 billion yuan, ranking first in Asia and top three globally. 

To date, the parties in arbitration and mediation cases handled by the court cover 138 countries and regions.

Established in 1983, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration has already completed 40 years of service. 

"The Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration is a pioneer and practitioner of international arbitration in China. Based on the new stage of development, we will always adhere to the principles of independence, impartiality and innovation, accelerate the high-quality development of international arbitration and contribute to the construction of a rule of law-oriented business environment in Shenzhen," said Liu Xiaochun, president of the court.

As one of the first national pilot areas for the construction of a rule of law government, Shenzhen, based on practicality and scientific legislation, has enacted a number of pioneering regulations, such as the "Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Regulation on the Management of Intelligent Networked Vehicles" and the "Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Data Regulation." 

The city has also taken the lead in establishing personal bankruptcy systems nationwide, closely integrating legal construction with the business environment.

"The business environment in Shenzhen has always been excellent, and the measures the city has introduced are very targeted," said Xiong Wei, dean of the Law School at Shenzhen University.

"Take the recently released ‘Measures for Promoting the Growth, Improvement and Strengthening of the Private Economy’ as an example. Targeting the common problems faced by private enterprises in Shenzhen, the city has introduced 20 practical measures to optimize the development environment for the private economy, focusing on major project construction, stimulating technological innovation vitality, opening application scenarios and expanding overseas markets. This ensures high-quality development through a rule of law-oriented business environment."

Huang Yaying, chief legislative consultation expert of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress and director of the Shenzhen University Economic Special Zone Legislation Research Center, said that Shenzhen is a promoter and beneficiary in the construction of a rule of law-oriented business environment. 

To maintain the attractiveness and competitiveness of its business environment, Shenzhen must further enhance the construction of a rule of law-oriented business environment, making the rule of law truly the best business environment, Huang added.

Reform and development through high-level openness

An outstanding business environment has made Shenzhen more appealing to foreign investments.

"The open, inclusive and innovative business environment in Shenzhen has left a deep impression on me," said Yin Guohui, general manager of government affairs at AJX (China) Investment Co.

"With its talent pool and well-established supply chains, Shenzhen places great importance on intellectual property rights and innovation. Our accumulated investments in China total 8 billion yuan , with over 2.5 billion yuan invested in Shenzhen. In the future, we will continue to grow alongside Shenzhen."

Through the establishment of new mechanisms for intellectual property protection in emerging fields, the implementation of comprehensive management mechanisms for major scientific programs, the introduction of innovative foreign talent recognition mechanisms and one-stop services for work permits, as well as the innovation of international transit and customs clearance models at ports, Shenzhen has taken a series of reform and innovation measures to actively integrate itself into the global innovation network and accelerate the development of the Greater Bay Area into an international center for scientific and technological innovation.

In the first half of 2023, the total value of import and export goods in Shenzhen reached 1.68 trillion yuan, a growth of 3.7%, while the import and export value of services amounted to US$90.98 billion, a growth of 76.7%. 

The actual use of foreign investment in the city reached 41.6 billion yuan, an increase of 10.6% from a year ago and the actual outbound investment amounted to US$6.06 billion, up 51.5% year on year.

Among various industries, the cross-border e-commerce industry in Shenzhen has achieved remarkable results. 

In the first half of 2023, the import and export value of cross-border e-commerce in Shenzhen reached 111.45 billion yuan, a 6.8-fold increase. 

New forms of business such as overseas warehouses and independent platforms have rapidly grown and the total area of overseas warehouses operated and constructed by Shenzhen enterprises has exceeded 3.15 million square meters.

Zou Shuji, co-chairman of the Shenzhen Internet Broadcasting Association, is very optimistic about the new business model of "cross-border e-commerce + livestreaming." 

"We have well-established infrastructure, operational capabilities and supply chain security in the field of livestreaming. Cross-border livestreaming allows companies to directly engage with end consumers, conduct marketing on a global scale and promote enterprise transformation and upgrading," he said.

"Accelerating the cultivation of an internationally competitive business environment and promoting high-quality economic and social development has always been our goal," said Zhang Huan, director of the Business Development Promotion Center at the Shenzhen Municipal Commerce Bureau. 

Shenzhen is actively creating a global resource allocation system for international services, and the attraction of foreign investments continues to strengthen. 

In the first half of the year, Shenzhen connected with 385 foreign-funded enterprises, including 186 Fortune 500 companies.

In the future, Shenzhen's business environment will further improve and the driving force for high-quality development will become even more vigorous, Zhang said.