China Daily HK Edition: If you build it, they will come

Edward Chen Kwan-yiu, president of the Qianhai Institute for Innovative Research, sees the need for a “critical mass”. (Parker Zheng / China Daily)The importance of Qianhai Cooperation Zone lies not only in its pilot role of spearheading financial innovation, but also in its key role in correcting the misalignment of the country’s economic structure, said Edward Chen Kwan-yiu, president of the Qianhai Institute for Innovative Research.

“The central government has designated Qianhai as a pilot for a range of innovative policies. In the process of internationalization of the renminbi and the opening up of its capital account, China has to ‘feel the stones while crossing the river’ and Qianhai has been chosen as ‘the first stone’,” Chen told China Daily in an exclusive interview during the Qianhai Conference in Shenzhen from Dec 6 to 7.

Besides, Qianhai plays an important role in the adjustment of the country’s overall economic structure.

Although the mainland has developed at a high speed in the past 20 years, the national economic structure has remained immature, with the modern service sector lagging far behind, Chen said.

“One immaturity is the underdevelopment of the country’s modern service sector,” he said. “China has to correct the immaturity in its economic development. In this sense, Qianhai’s role is quite important. It is going to correct the misalignment of the country’s economic structure.”
Despite the uniqueness of Qianhai, Chen admitted that there are impediments to its attracting talents. “Infrastructure has not been fully completed and businesses have yet to be well-established in the zone,” Chen said.

But he is confident about the future of Qianhai. “I can see a lot of potential,” Chen said. To attract more enterprises and talents, Qianhai needs to create a “critical mass,” he added.
“When a sufficient number of enterprises — adventurous, ambitious or risk-taking ones, for example — come to Qianhai and make profits here, they will definitely inspire others to come,” Chen said.

“Once a ‘critical mass’ is created, many people would come and invest. After that, you will get a ‘herd instinct’ — people would just come.”
He did not elaborate how Qianhai could create the “critical mass”, but said “it’s not easy.”
The institute Chen heads aims to provide policy research support for the government and for enterprises in Qianhai.

To help businesses do better in the special zone, the institute will provide services like knowledge exchange and dissemination.

“We will offer support and services to enterprises in Qianhai in various ways, like conducting regular lectures, seminars and workshops, producing newsletters, inviting scholars, and so forth,” Chen said.

In the longer term, the institute will not only serve Qianhai and Shenzhen, but also bring Qianhai’s experience to the outside world. “We are thinking of launching a ‘Qianhai International Journal’ focusing on the modern service industry to bring Qianhai to the world and also bring the world to Qianhai,” Chen said.

sally@chinadailyhk.com