As China has lifted COVID-19 restrictions and vowed stronger support for economic growth, Shenzhen has been moving fast to send trade delegations to foreign countries and China’s Hong Kong and Macao to fortify business ties with their overseas peers and seek businesses opportunities in the global market.

Earlier this month, a city government delegation held several trade and business promotion events in Singapore and Japan to enhance cooperation and exchanges in fields such as smart city, fintech, digital economy, semiconductors, integrated circuits, high-end medical devices and biomedicine, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.

Singaporean and Japanese institutions and enterprises present at the conferences said the visiting delegation had enhanced their understanding of Shenzhen’s high-quality investment environment and government policy support system, and they were highly confident in investing in Shenzhen.

Japan’s ORIX Corp. showed intense interest in learning more about Shenzhen’s existing preferential business policies for foreign financial companies and future supporting policies.

Futian District also sent a delegation to visit renowned enterprises and institutions in Milan and Florence in Italy and Madrid in Spain. The trips were fruitful, witnessing a series of breakthrough deals inked on investment and trade, educational training and media cooperation.

During visits to South Korea and Japan, a Longhua District delegation clinched a deal with Japan’s ROUND ONE Corporation, which plans to set up its South China headquarters in Longhua, which is building a hub for cultural entertainment consumption, the Daily reported.

Additionally, a Luohu District delegation reached tentative agreements with Bangkok in six areas and signed two cooperation agreements during a recent trip to Thailand. During a following trip to Singapore, the delegation held exchanges with financial institutions and sci-tech parks in Singapore for cooperation opportunities.

The district also reached cooperation intentions with Macao’s catering and jewelry businesses after holding an investment promotion meeting in Macao earlier this month.

After attending a promotion meeting held by Qianhai Authority in Hong Kong last week, Kwok Chi-wah, head of the Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association, said Qianhai is attractive to Hong Kong businesses with its many preferential policies. He said he was looking forward to organizing a trip to Qianhai for his association members and believed more Hong Kong businesses will invest in Qianhai.

Meanwhile, the city government has arranged charter planes to send enterprises engaged in electronic information, medical equipment, new energy vehicles and drones to attend international exhibitions held in Europe, the Americas and Southeast Asia, garnering many orders since December.

With a diverse range of innovative products, over 180 Shenzhen companies brought novel electronics to the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s most influential tech show, in Las Vegas, the U.S., from Jan. 5 to 8.