DUBBED the next Silicon Valley of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and even the world, Shenzhen and its Bao’an District won global limelight at the annual meeting of the 2019 World Economic Forum held in Davos Klosters, Switzerland from Jan. 22 to 25.

On behalf of the Bao’an mission, Zhou Xueliang, deputy head of the district government, promoted the prominent business environment of the city and the opportunities it offers in technological investment and cross-border business during the zenith of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” at a panel session featuring “Innovation and investment in China’s Greater Bay Area” at the forum’s China Day Special on Jan. 24.

Amid the frequently-discussed topics such as the Belt and Road Initiative, blockchain, cross-border transactions and so on, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has become a catchphrase.

“Located at the heart of the Great Bay Area, one of the pivots of China’s reform and opening up, Shenzhen has shown proficiency in placing itself among the upper echelons of cosmopolitan bay city clusters in the world, with a gross production value of 369.2 billion dollars in 2018, ranking it fifth among all the economies in Asia and contributing 22 percent to the total economic production value of the whole Greater Bay Area,” said Zhou as a panelist in his keynote speech on behalf of the Bao’an District Government. He added that Shenzhen set an outstanding example of combing financial gears with economic development, fostering an investment system that incubates 380 local enterprises having been listed at home and abroad.

Andre Shortell, one of the panelists who serves as a general partner of GP Bullhond LLP, a world-leading advisory and investment firm, showed interest in how higher education intuitions can collaborate within the business environment, capital support and market demand in building Shenzhen into a future Silicon Valley. In response to his asking, Zhou said: “In addition to talents from local universities, graduates from across the country and even the world are interested in starting their business in Shenzhen for the sake of the business environment, capital support and market demand above mentioned.”

He also introduced a series of business-friendly policies released by the Bao’an District Government to Erick Van Der Kleij, a former advisor of the British Prime Minster David Cameron who asked about the supporting incentives in the creation of a prominent business environment.

A post-panel discussion was also held among the Bao’an mission and panelists intrigued by the business environment in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area, including Ida Auken, former Minister of Environment and a current parliamentarian in Denmark, Jens Martin Skibsted, chair of the World Economic Forum’s think tank on entrepreneurship, and Duan Yanling, a council member of Davos Digital Summit.(Wang Haolan)