In August 2023 the State Council issued the "Development Plan for the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone," assigning Futian the strategic mission of planning and developing the Hetao cooperation zone and building a world-class scientific research hub. This marks Futian’s entry into a new stage of renewed entrepreneurial development. The Hetao cooperation zone is the only specialized platform focused on science and technology innovation in the “Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.” Located at the cross-border junction between the northern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the south-central part of Shenzhen, it is the natural convergence point of Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Corridor. The zone covers about 3.89 square kilometers, of which the Shenzhen park occupies 3.02 square kilometers and the Hong Kong Park 0.87 square kilometers. The planned area of the Shenzhen park includes the 1.35-square-kilometer Futian Free Trade Zone and the 1.67-square-kilometer Huanggang Checkpoint area, both under Futian’s jurisdiction.

Development goals

By 2035, a fully formed pattern of collaborative innovation with the Hong Kong park will be established; the internationalization level of science and technology innovation there will rank among the global leaders; innovation factors will flow across the border freely and in an orderly manner; a number of world-class innovation platforms and top technology companies’ R&D centers will be cultivated; the zone will become a world-class scientific research hub and strongly support the construction of the Greater Bay Area’s international science and technology innovation center and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Corridor.

Construction of the Hetao Shenzhen park has already made major progress. In Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation, a “one area, two parks” cooperation arrangement was signed with Hong Kong, the first "joint policy package" was issued and implemented, and the Shenzhen branch of Hong Kong Science Park was built and put into operation, hosting 68 resident enterprises and institutions. The Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Center and its testing institute were jointly inaugurated in Shenzhen and Hong Kong on the same day. Support has been provided for five Hong Kong institutions ranked in the global top 100 and for the Hong Kong Innovation Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to expand into the Shenzhen park. Parties have jointly formulated policy measures to promote the flow of factors for the “one area, two parks” and have coordinated the advancement of cross-border infrastructure projects such as the new Huanggang Checkpoint, the New Channel No. 1, and the Hetao cross-river connecting bridge.

On institutional innovation, national-level policies have been implemented, including import-export tax incentives, 10 support measures from the General Administration of Customs, six support measures from the National Immigration Administration, and preferential tax policies for enterprises and Hong Kong residents. The pilot "Kehuitong" service has been replicated and promoted nationwide. The park has assumed nine provincial-level administrative powers related to the Hetao area, including approval for Hong Kong-plated vehicles for Channel One. Now Channel One has been in operation on a “white-list” basis, allowing cross-border transit for researchers and vehicles. Twenty research management systems and mechanisms aligned with Hong Kong and international practices have been implemented. The “one area, two parks” has essentially achieved smooth factor flows, integrated innovation chains, and unimpeded personnel exchanges.

In science and technology innovation, the zone has attracted branches of three national laboratories, including the Hefei Laboratory, and two national-level technology innovation centers such as the Greater Bay Area National Innovation Center International Headquarters. Top university research platforms have also taken root, including the Hetao Institute of Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Studies, the Peking University Shenzhen-Hong Kong Hetao Sci-Tech Innovation Center, and the Fudan Shenzhen Research Institute. The park has drawn R&D centers from eight Fortune Global 500 companies, including Apple and Starbucks, and R&D centers from five large central State-owned enterprises such as China Merchants Group and China Resources. To date it has aggregated more than 220 high-end research projects, 18 academicians and senior experts, and over 15,000 research personnel, producing heavyweight scientific results. Among them the bosonic-code error-correction work that extended qubit lifetime, which was selected as one of China’s Top 10 Scientific Advances.

On international cooperation, the park hosts six internationally oriented industry and standards organizations that were independently initiated by China. They have produced 246 standards in total, including 20 international standards, helping Chinese innovators participate in international standards setting. The area has also supported the establishment and development of international journals and organizations such as Innovation·Energy and the China Entrepreneur Club.

In pilot-scale conversion and the cultivation of new productive forces, the park has launched from scratch 10 pilot service platforms, including ones for specialized embodied robots, compound photonic chips, intelligent automated drug discovery, and smart medical robots for proof-of-concept testing. It has incubated and attracted 447 technology companies, among which listed firms such as Shenzhen XtalPi Technology Co. Ltd. — the first “18C” IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange — which in 2025 received orders worth US$5.99 billion, setting a record for China’s AI drug-development outbound business, and Shenzhen HighTide Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd., ranked among Top 100 Future Medical companies. Three unicorns are based here, including Shenzhen DeepRoute.ai Co. Ltd., a developer of L4 autonomous driving systems. The park also hosts 101 “specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative” (often called “specialized and new”) enterprises such as Shenzhen Kunyun Information Technology Co. Ltd., winner of the 2024 “China Chip” award.

In terms of park construction and supporting services, the Shenzhen park has turned the disadvantage of Futian Bonded Zone’s dense built-up environment into an advantage for high-quality rapid development. Using a four-pronged approach of renting, purchasing, renovation and reconstruction, it rapidly prepared and transformed 13 specialized industrial parks, supplying 883,000 square meters of R&D and industrial space. A systematic layout of thematic clusters has been established — Digital Valley, Energy & Carbon Valley, Bay Area Chip Valley, Life & Green Valley, Quantum Science Valley, and New Materials Innovation Valley.

Breakthroughs have also been made in science finance: the Hetao cross-border dual-currency parent fund and a series of specialized sub-funds were unveiled; the park launched its first QFLP fund, and four tech equity funds with a combined scale exceeding 8 billion yuan were established. Strengthening the intellectual property protection and service system, the authorities issued opinions to enhance IP protection and utilization in Hetao, set up Shenzhen’s first national-level rapid IP rights protection center as well as the Hetao People’s Court and an IP procuratorate office, and introduced three international mediation and arbitration platforms including an International Commercial Mediation Center. The park also implemented the country’s first “dual-cross-border” IP securitization project, with an initial batch totaling 42 million yuan.