Seminar held on building international consumption city

A five-day seminar exploring ways of building Shenzhen into an international consumption center city recently concluded at the Shenzhen Reform and Opening Up Executive Leadership Academy in Qianhai.

During the seminar, organized by the Organization Department of Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPC and the Shenzhen Commerce Bureau, experts from the U.S., U.K., France, Italy, Japan, Singapore and China explored through online and onsite discussions Shenzhen's trajectories for building an international consumption city.

Professor Hu Yunchao, director of the Economics High Quality Development Institute of Pudong Executive Leadership Academy, started the session Aug. 29 with a presentation on building new development patterns by relying on the domestic market.

▲Professor Hu Yunchao, director of the Economics High Quality Development Institute of Pudong Executive Leadership Academy, speaks at the seminar.Photos by courtesy of Shenzhen Reform and Opening Up Executive Leadership Academy.

“To develop the new patterns, we should break down monopolies of different trades and industries and reduce local protectionism, and push forward construction of domestic markets by leveraging competitive advantages and attracting global market resources to the domestic market circulation and making full use of the dual markets,"said Hu.

Gianpaolo Bruno, chief representative of Italian Trade Agency Beijing Office, introduced Italian experience in building an international consumption city.

“The promotion of culture IP is crucial in building the consumption center city. Shenzhen, a capital of design, should tap and extract its unique cultural elements, improve its global influence through organizing influential commerce and trade exhibitions,”said Bruno, citing Milan Fashion Week and exhibitions as examples.

During the process of building an international consumption center city, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, former French minister of culture, said the integration of traditional and modern culture elements should be highlighted, giving a proper place for culture development rather than just blind commercialization. The new generation technologies such as light shows can be applied to the city's public facilities, as a new carrier that reflects a city's distinctive innovation, he suggested.

Gu Qingyang, professor with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) of National University of Singapore (NUS), introduced how Singapore, without any advantages in natural tourism resources, expands its tourism by incorporating its urban culture, medical services, education, exhibitions, and unique humanities features. Geographically, it realizes a“grand tourism” concept that fits the position of an international consumption city by taking advantage of incorporating the tourism approaches of Malaysia and Thailand.

The trainees, 39 in total selected from related departments of the city, thought the training session sketched the major concepts, logic and basic elements for Shenzhen's building an international consumption city.

▲Zhang Lin (2nd L), an attendee of the seminar, speaks in a discussion section while the others listen attentively.

“The training covers various topics, broadens our horizon, elaborates on the content, orientation, and measures of building an international consumption city in a professional, systematic way and from multiple perspectives. We expect more such exchanges,”Zhu Fumin, deputy chief of the School of Economics, Shenzhen University, said.

The training also broadened the work ideas of Qiu Zhenxiong, deputy chief of Pingshan State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration.

▲Attendees in a group discussion during the seminar.

“We previously thought Pingshan was an industrial zone, which was not related to consumption. The concept of 'consumption in industrial parks' broadens our way of thinking,”said Qiu, adding that Pingshan owns the best new energy base in China along with Honor industrial park, in addition to Hakka culture and landscapes, all with great potential.

Shenzhen had set its goal to be an international consumption center city by 2025, according to the 14th Five Year Plan jointly issued earlier this year by the Shenzhen Commerce Bureau and the Shenzhen Development Reform Commission.

In 2021, the total retail sales of social consumer goods of the city reached 949.8 billion yuan. Shenzhen is the home to 100 shopping centers whose floor space reaches more than 50,000 square meters. There are eight shopping centers whose annual operation revenue had exceeded 3 billion yuan.

Shenzhen had formed multi-level business circles in various places across the city represented by The MixC in Nanshan, Sea World in Shekou, as well as business circles in Houhai, Futian CBD, Bao'an CBD, Longhua CBD and Dongmen Pedestrian Street, and Huaqiangbei Pedestrian Street.