The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was established by the Chinese Government on August 26, 1980, at the suggestion of Deng Xiaoping, the helmsman of China's reform and opening up.

In March 1979, the State Council, China's cabinet, approved the renaming of Baoan County in south China's Guangdong Province as Shenzhen City, and a 327.5-square-km area of Shenzhen was designated as a special economic zone on a trial basis by the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, in August 1980. The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) became one of China's first four special economic zones along with the three coastal areas of Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen.

Shenzhen thus took on a historic responsibility in the reform and opening up process.

Achievements

Starting with the construction of urban infrastructure facilities, the stunning speed of economic development in the Shenzhen SEZ has drawn worldwide attention over the past 30 years.

In 2009, total output value in Shenzhen hit 820 billion yuan ($120 billion), 979 times greater than total output value in 1979, or an average annual growth rate of 25.8 percent – a miracle in terms of city development.

Shenzhen is among the top cities in China with its per-capita GDP in 2009 reaching $13,600, equal to the world-acknowledged standard of moderately developed countries.

Over the past 30 years, the city has undertaken a large number of urgently needed projects for economic and social development in such sectors as transportation, communication, energy, and municipal facilities, as well as industrial projects that drive the city's economic growth.

Shenzhen has now established a vertical transport network, with better urban facilities available for transportation, postal and port services.

An information technology application system is widely used in the fields of finance, tax collection, public security, labor resource management, insurance, transportation, ports, and customs.

The establishment of various markets, including securities, real estate, technology and futures, has played a vital role in the adjustment of economic structure.

Changing with each passing day, Shenzhen was built into a modernized city with complete urban facilities and an elegant environment, making it suitable for human settlement.

Meanwhile, the city is in full swing in the development of various undertakings, such as science, education, culture and health, which has spurred an overall improvement in people's standard of living. Residents have leapt from having only adequate food and clothing to being relatively well off.

Residents' savings deposits rose from 37 million yuan ($24.6 million) in 1979 to 572 billion yuan ($84 billion) in 2009, with per-capita savings deposits growing from 118 yuan ($78) to 64,223 yuan ($9,444), according to Chinanews.com.

Having established a higher standard of living, residents, apart from increasing their consumption of food, clothing, and daily necessities, are consuming more in education, entertainment, health care, travel, communication, and property.

Food consumption focuses on quality, nutrition and convenience, while clothing consumption favors top-grade, readymade and unique products.

New consumption products are represented by mobile phones, air conditioners, home computers, cars and commercial houses, and per-capita living space has reached a record high of 26.64 square meters.

Foreign investment boon

Foreign investment has long been a key factor driving economic growth in Shenzhen.

To honor foreign investing businesses that have made outstanding contributions to the city's development during the past 30 years, the city recently recognized 10 top leaders from multinational companies, headed by Wal-Mart China CEO Ed Chan, and another 10 leaders from Hong Kong businesses, headed by Zhu Shuhao, board chairman of the Mission Hills Group.

According to Sznews.com, the event was designed to highlight the achievements of the city's reform and opening up drive, as well as celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen SEZ.

Foreign businesspeople served as both creators and witnesses in Shenzhen's development miracle, and made great contributions to the rise of the city. Shenzhen's preferential policies and its proximity to Hong Kong made it an attractive destination for foreign direct investment. Foreign businesses helped Shenzhen expand local employment and served as a major force in China's export activities, which in turn promoted rapid development in the Shenzhen SEZ.

Currently, Shenzhen is home to 167 top 500 world companies. They lead the city's industrial upgrading efforts and promote Shenzhen's development into an international metropolis.

While helping Shenzhen mingle with the world, multinational business leaders yield rich fruits in return.

Investment from Hong Kong became central to economic development in Shenzhen. Approximately 80 percent of large projects with an investment at or above $10 million and businesses with annual exports valued over $10 million have received investment from Hong Kong businesspeople over the past 30 years.

At the beginning of the reform and opening up program in early 1980, a large batch of business compatriots in Hong Kong went to Shenzhen to open businesses, forming a "shop-factory," a win-win type of operation. There emerged many outstanding leaders of Hong Kong businesses. They made great contributions to Shenzhen's development over the past 30 years.

The legend continues?

After having led China on the road of reform and opening up, which shifted the country from a planned economy to a market economy, Shenzhen must figure out how to remain a pioneer in the next round of historic change.

This challenge is much greater now than it was 30 years ago. Facing rivalry from the cities of Guangzhou and Zhuhai, within the province, and large cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Suzhou, how can Shenzhen once again take the lead in China's reform? Shenzhen therefore now faces more challenges than opportunities, according to an article in the Beijing-based news magazine Outlook Weekly.

Wang Rong, Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, said in his government report on May 31 that efforts will be made to build the pioneering city of reform and opening up into a "modern international advanced metropolis," a status aspired to by 183 cities nationwide, according to statistics.

Wang's speech stirred arguments: Will the effort to turn the city into a "modern international metropolis" weaken the reform functions of the special economic zone? Will the city retain its special characteristics and its pioneering spirit of reform?

As the Shenzhen SEZ celebrates its 30th anniversary, then, people at home and abroad are not concerned with its rapid growth in the past 30 years, but how the city will fare in the next three decades, a crucial period for the Chinese people to transform the country's growth mode.

In an article in People's Daily, Wang vowed to continue to play the role of vanguard. "We shall carry forward Shenzhen's pioneering spirit of reform and renovation, so as to create a new road for future development," he said.