Xi Jinping’s visit to Shenzhen on Wednesday was laced with symbolism. Everyone is naturally reminded of Deng Xiaoping’s tour to the Guangdong region, and Shenzhen in particular, in 1992. It was this legendary visit that finally breathed life into the sleepy fishing village it once was, for the city to become China’s epicenter of innovation and high-tech industry. Let’s remind ourselves… the Greater Bay Area is probably the most dynamic economic region in the world today, and Shenzhen is its heartbeat.
In his speech, however, Xi called for a lot more to come and on the city to create yet “another miracle”. While there was conspicuously no mention of the Trump administration and the conflict with America, it was obvious that Xi performed a rallying cry of sorts, hoping that Shenzhen’s edge in innovation will overcompensate the damages of US tariffs, the export bans as well as the blacklisting of some of China’s bellwether enterprises.
Neglecting the numerous accusations from a predominantly Western world Xi reaffirmed Beijing’s commitment to continue with the country’s reforms, as he pledged that China would catty on its open-door policy and welcome other countries as well as foreign companies and talented individuals to take part in its economic development. Assigning Shenzhen the task of being the hub of this undertaking and of creating a platform for cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong/ Macau makes perfect sense.
Shenzhen will also be given greater autonomy on reforms necessary to achieve such ambitious objectives, and with this new status will serve as the beacon for the entire region. At the same time, it should now be clear where Hong Kong stands. The city will still command essential international features and remain the financial hub, probably for some time to come, but the message is for Hong Kong to integrate into the Greater Bay Area and play its part under Shenzhen’s stewardship.
Xi even went as far as to invite young people from Hong Kong and Macau to study, work, and live in Shenzhen to enhance each other’s understanding and bring them closer to the motherland. To be sure, many youngsters here in the city haven’t even crossed the border once and have no sense yet how incremental the Greater Bay Area is for them. In other words, Beijing is evidently reaching out to those who have held dear other ideas, almost conciliatory, but equally left no doubt stipulating the journey’s direction.
And as Shenzhen asserts its role as the powerhouse in high-tech supply chains, no matter what the West is trying to do with its decoupling efforts, the accelerating trend toward a more digitalised economy doesn’t leave Hong Kong much breathing space. Things like an internationally accepted legal system and full currency convertibility still matter, but the question will be how much more once China introduces the digital Yuan, something that could well coincide with the Plenum in two weeks.
In light of American and other international pressures Xi’s performance was no doubt audacious. The template around Shenzhen he laid out for the world to see is as much a testament of China’s relentless drive to build the world’s most competitive economy as it is a self-confident reply to Washington’s scheming. China may be slowed down, but it cannot be stopped. And Beijing’s leader just picked up Trump’s gauntlet and threw it back into the Rose Garden.
As always, there are the skeptics who give Xi the benefit of the doubt on Shenzhen but argue that the overall trend is toward less openness. But here, I guess one should keep it with China’s evident bias toward pragmatism, as in be less dogmatic and support what works. Shenzhen is living proof. Let’s see whether Wednesday was a harbinger of things to come at the 5th Plenum of the Party Congress, just ahead of the US election.
As Xinhua reported, the conclave will announce China’s next 5-year plan for 2021-25 and also roll out a midterm economic strategy called the 2035 Vision. What we heard about Shenzhen will prominently feature. Also, there is an expectation that more details about a potential rollout of the digital Yuan will be revealed before the year-end, which would probably be perceived as yet another broadside at the dollars’ global preeminence.
An additional surprise at the Plenum could be the environmental agenda. I pointed out an opinion piece of The Telegraph’s Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in a
post in late August, as in how a Biden presidency would try to pull off the gargantuan task of reinventing America and reasserting its sole superpower status. Committing to net-zero emissions by 2050 would catapult America into an environmental leadership position that will allow it to use it as a pivot against China by targeting polluters.
What if Beijing front-ran Biden before he even had a chance of being elected? What if the environmental agenda was so powerful that China would instantly compete with America for its global leadership on climate issues? To be sure, Biden will do his Green New Deal no matter what, but Xi might by then be in a position to say don’t you patronise me, and Europe will be left in between shyly raising its hand and chipping in that it was all their idea.
