On November 21, the "Workshop on Special Economic Zones: Challenges and Perspectives for Landlocked CAREC Countries" co-organized by the School of Central Asia and Asian Development Bank commenced in the Venice Hotel Shenzhen. Prof. Tao Yitao, director of the China Center for Special Economic Zone Research (CCSEZR), a key research base for humanities and social sciences under the Ministry of Education and dean of the Belt and Road Research Institute (Shenzhen) for International Cooperation and Development (BRRIICD) attended the event on invitation. Prof. Tao firstly delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the workshop, introducing the current special economic zones (SEZs) research status and achievements of the CCSEZR, a key research base for humanities and social sciences under the Ministry of Education.
It is reported that government representatives, authorities for planning and administration of SEZs and international experts and scholars in this field from 10 countries attended the workshop.
This workshop aims at deepening the attendees' understanding of the evolving nature of SEZs, enhancing capacities of each country to formulate and implement strategies for SEZs and strengthen current SEZ development strategies to make SEZs regional interconnection hubs for facilitating trade and economic diversification and further underpin the implementation of CITA (CAREC Integrated Trade Agenda) 2030.
Prof. Tao Yitao delivered a keynote speech titled "Successful Experience of Shenzhen Speicial Economic Zone and Its Reference Significance (for Central Asian Economic Cooperation)" and expounded in depth on the successful experience of Shenzhen, the most successful and typical SEZ of China, and its reference significance.
Prof. Tao Yitao believed that for Chinese society, SEZ is neither a city, nor simply a place to carry out special policies; instead, it is the path choice of institutional change for Chinese society. As the areas where China's reform and opening-up was initiated, SEZs also started the journey to explore the institutional change of Chinese society. Shenzhen reflects and leads the direction of the institutional change of China with its own development and creates a brand-new and highly effective social development mode; more importantly, Shenzhen creates social transformation miracles with its constant evolution and establishes new ideas and ignites new spirits while creating wealth. There is no city like Shenzhen on the earth
Prof. Tao Yitao points out that the successful experience of Shenzhen lies in six aspects: (I) Choose and stick to the direction of the market economy and encourage the development of private companies with preferential policies and laws; (II) Create momentum for reform through opening-up and improve the awareness of market economy, thus reducing time costs of reform; (III) Respect and expand the emancipation of people and empower each citizen the right and freedom to choose; (IV) Take full advantage of national system and establish the social system pattern of big market, small government; (V) Drive the adjustment of industrial structure and the transformation of development model with the changes of factor endowment and make innovation the internal driving force; (VI) Emancipate the mind, dare to innovate, tolerate failure and cultivate a loose, tolerant, free and sharing cultural environment for the reform and opening-up.
Prof. Tao Yitao stressed that Shenzhen, as the pilot zone and the pioneering city of China's reform and opening-up, had lured plentiful capital and technologies to its shore with the privilege of China's reform and opening-up to fuel its development. Shenzhen has a quality of fearlessness, and therefore it's the power of ideas that makes what Shenzhen is today rather than resources or technologies. It's these fearless innovators that created more wealth leveraging capital and technologies. "Ideas can't change the society, but they can change people who then can change the society."
After the speech, the attendees from Central Asia countries showed intense interest in the views in Prof. Tao Yitao's speech and put forward their own thoughts and doubts. Prof. Tao Yitao gave instructive answers respectively.
On that afternoon of the event, Prof. Tao Yitao also presided over and commented on the dialogue and discussion session. The attendees from Central Asia countries actively raised many questions on the construction of SEZs and Prof. Tao gave wonderful answers combining the relevant experiences of Shenzhen SEZ. The attendees unanimously expressed they benefited a lot from the event.
Other attendees accompanying Director and President Tao were Dr. Yun Wenjie from the CCSEZR and international doctoral candidate Andrei Petunin.
