The Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government in China is keen to have friendly city-to-city relations between Shenzhen and Doha and other cities in Qatar, as it has done with other regions and municipalities around the world, an official has said.
Speaking to journalists from Gulf Times and other Qatar-based media outlets in Shenzhen, Fuying Tan, associate consul-general at the Foreign Affairs Office, Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, expressed the “strong will” of Shenzhen city to have direct relations with Doha to exchange experiences and expertise in various fields such as development, urban planning, investment, culture and other areas of mutual interest.
She said Shenzhen city is relatively new as it was established only 38 years ago. The government was able to convert it from a small remote fishing village into a well-planned city whose GDP expanded to 2.24tn yuan in 2017, with a year-on-year increase of 8.8%.
The official stressed that Shenzhen has its vast experience to offer to Doha, particularly in view of the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place in Qatar and the massive construction and development plans being undertaken there.
Shenzhen is open to global investment and trade, and is home to one of the largest container ports in the world, the largest land port (border checkpoint) in Asia and one of the five largest airports in China. Similarly, Doha enjoys a key location in the region and its Hamad International Airport is fast emerging as a major hub for air travel and cargo, receiving an ever increasing number of travellers and goods. Also, Qatar’s new Hamad Port is capable of handling large-scale trade activities.
Tan pointed out that Qatar is one of the largest suppliers of LNG, considered a clean source of energy, to China. This is a key area of interest and of great importance to the Shenzhen government due to its efforts on having clean, new energy resources.
All public transportation buses in Shenzhen are electric and the city is “committed to the concept of environment-friendly development”.
As Qatar attaches great importance to education and research through entities such as Qatar Foundation and Education City, Shenzhen has launched the ‘Ten Point Action Plan’ to stimulate innovation and prepare for eight major technological infrastructure projects such as the establishment of three Nobel Laureate Labs, three institutions for basic research, five manufacturing innovation centres and seven innovation centres.
Tan said there is great potential for the two major cities to co-operate and exchange experiences in such areas.
In the meantime, Sikang Wu, chief director at the Shenzhen Development Research Centre, welcomed a possible tie-up between Doha and Shenzhen. Wu pointed out that if this happens, it will further enhance development in both cities.
Investment opportunities
Shenzhen hosts the headquarters of some of the largest manufacturers in the world, such as BYD Auto Industry Company Limited and Huawei Technologies Company Limited. While Huawei described its business as growing and excellent in Qatar and the Middle East, BYD hoped for more business opportunities in Qatar, offering the country various clean and innovative transportation solutions.
Meanwhile, a number of officials and researchers in the Shenzhen government said Qatar enjoys great investment opportunities due to the strength of its economy and is witnessing a development boom as a result of its openness policy, according to the official QNA.
They expressed a desire to establish various co-operation deals and partnerships between the Shenzhen government - along with its various institutions – and their counterparts in Qatar.
During their meeting with the visiting press delegation from the Qatar, the officials said the motivation to establish such co-operation between the Shenzhen government, Doha Municipality and other municipalities in Qatar, is their full knowledge of the open policy adopted by Qatar as well as the advantages and opportunities provided by the State that help attract foreign investment and make people's lives more comfortable and happy.
The Qatari press delegation’s visit included meetings with officials from the Chinese foreign ministry and the Shanghai and Shenzhen governments as well as visits to various Chinese media outlets, including Xinhua News Agency, the Arabic Channel, China Central Television, economic and trade institutions, China Commercial Aircraft Industry Corporation, Shanghai Municipal Planning Museum, the Qatar Tourism Authority office in Beijing, and some telecommunications and automobile industry companies.
She said Shenzhen city is relatively new as it was established only 38 years ago. The government was able to convert it from a small remote fishing village into a well-planned city whose GDP expanded to 2.24tn yuan in 2017, with a year-on-year increase of 8.8%.
The official stressed that Shenzhen has its vast experience to offer to Doha, particularly in view of the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place in Qatar and the massive construction and development plans being undertaken there.
Shenzhen is open to global investment and trade, and is home to one of the largest container ports in the world, the largest land port (border checkpoint) in Asia and one of the five largest airports in China. Similarly, Doha enjoys a key location in the region and its Hamad International Airport is fast emerging as a major hub for air travel and cargo, receiving an ever increasing number of travellers and goods. Also, Qatar’s new Hamad Port is capable of handling large-scale trade activities.
Tan pointed out that Qatar is one of the largest suppliers of LNG, considered a clean source of energy, to China. This is a key area of interest and of great importance to the Shenzhen government due to its efforts on having clean, new energy resources.
All public transportation buses in Shenzhen are electric and the city is “committed to the concept of environment-friendly development”.
As Qatar attaches great importance to education and research through entities such as Qatar Foundation and Education City, Shenzhen has launched the ‘Ten Point Action Plan’ to stimulate innovation and prepare for eight major technological infrastructure projects such as the establishment of three Nobel Laureate Labs, three institutions for basic research, five manufacturing innovation centres and seven innovation centres.
Tan said there is great potential for the two major cities to co-operate and exchange experiences in such areas.
In the meantime, Sikang Wu, chief director at the Shenzhen Development Research Centre, welcomed a possible tie-up between Doha and Shenzhen. Wu pointed out that if this happens, it will further enhance development in both cities.
Investment opportunities
Shenzhen hosts the headquarters of some of the largest manufacturers in the world, such as BYD Auto Industry Company Limited and Huawei Technologies Company Limited. While Huawei described its business as growing and excellent in Qatar and the Middle East, BYD hoped for more business opportunities in Qatar, offering the country various clean and innovative transportation solutions.
Meanwhile, a number of officials and researchers in the Shenzhen government said Qatar enjoys great investment opportunities due to the strength of its economy and is witnessing a development boom as a result of its openness policy, according to the official QNA.
They expressed a desire to establish various co-operation deals and partnerships between the Shenzhen government - along with its various institutions – and their counterparts in Qatar.
During their meeting with the visiting press delegation from the Qatar, the officials said the motivation to establish such co-operation between the Shenzhen government, Doha Municipality and other municipalities in Qatar, is their full knowledge of the open policy adopted by Qatar as well as the advantages and opportunities provided by the State that help attract foreign investment and make people's lives more comfortable and happy.
The Qatari press delegation’s visit included meetings with officials from the Chinese foreign ministry and the Shanghai and Shenzhen governments as well as visits to various Chinese media outlets, including Xinhua News Agency, the Arabic Channel, China Central Television, economic and trade institutions, China Commercial Aircraft Industry Corporation, Shanghai Municipal Planning Museum, the Qatar Tourism Authority office in Beijing, and some telecommunications and automobile industry companies.