Shenzhen launches ‘one-stop shop’ to help foreign talent work at Hetao cooperation zone

The new facility on Hetao zone’s Shenzhen side will help foreigners expedite the process of obtaining their work and residence permits on the mainland

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The Hong Kong section of the Hetao cooperation zone, located on the northern side of the Shenzhen River, occupies an area measuring 0.87 square kilometres. Photo: Martin Chan

Published: 5:30pm, 8 Aug 2024

The Shenzhen side of a joint cooperation zone on the border of Hong Kong and the southern tech hub has launched a service station to help foreign talent expedite arrangements to work and live on the mainland.

The Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, which marked a year since the State Council released plans for its development, set up the station on Wednesday to serve as a “one-stop shop” for foreigners to obtain their work and residence permits, according to its statement on Thursday, as part of the two cities’ commitment to create a collaboration mechanism by 2025 that will entice world-class talent in hi-tech research to the area.

The Hetao cooperation zone, which was first proposed by Beijing in 2017, straddles two sections covering a total of nearly 4 square kilometres in the boundary between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. These two sections are separated by the Shenzhen River.

Over the past year, the zone has achieved initial results that include luring China’s labs to set up branches there, according to Zeng Jianpeng, director general of the Hetao cooperation zone.

The Shenzhen section of the Hetao cooperation zone, located on the southern side of the Shenzhen River, occupies an area measuring 3.02 square kilometres. Photo: Weibo

The latest initiative by the Shenzhen side of the Hetao cooperation zone reflects heightened efforts to develop leading research clusters in the area by 2035, as part of the plan laid out by the State Council in August last year.