Qianhai spruces up

The Qianhai authority told China Daily it's studying a new management system that could "moderately separate administrative regions and economic regions". It may also proactively align with Hong Kong's development strategy for the SAR's Northern Metropolis project and consider "designing policies jointly, developing synergistically and sharing achievements together in a designated zone with Hong Kong".

Shenzhen Customs has pledged support for a "joint designing and building" mechanism with Hong Kong in a series of Customs supervision and inspection measures in Qianhai announced on Sept 8.

In fact, attempts have already been made in this direction. Fu Zhengping, president of the Institute of Free Trade Zones at Sun Yat-sen University, referred to the 18 supporting measures provided in "a joint policy package" announced by Hong Kong's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Qianhai authority on Sept 2. "It's the first time both sides have consolidated their policies in the form of a joint announcement," he said, adding it represents a groundbreaking move in Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation.
The comprehensive Qianhai plan, released last year, has injected new momentum into institutional innovation and expedited its opening-up to the world, he said. One mission set by the plan is to innovate the governance model of cooperation zones.

According to a report published by the Institute of Free Trade Zones in July, Qianhai, as part of the Guangdong Free Trade Zone, topped the rankings in the institutional innovation index among all free trade zones in the country. "Compared with its performance last year, Qianhai stands out in the upgrading of government services and the legal environment this year," Fu said.
The Qianhai authority says it has launched 685 innovation measures since its inception in 2010, with 65 of them replicated and promoted nationwide.