Inviting investment

01 Jul Inviting investment

China’s push to develop port infrastructure was first manifest in August of 1980 when Shenzhen became the first area in China to be designated by the central government a special economic zone that could accept foreign direct investment. Shenzhen was chosen because of its proximity to one of China’s key gateways to and from the Western world, the “China Jewel,” Hong Kong. The latter attracted large sums of foreign direct investment by providing capital, management skills, technology, market knowledge, and access to international markets. The Shenzhen special economic zone offered investment incentives like corporate tax-breaks, less red-tape, large subsidies, bonuses, and visas for managers of transnational corporations looking to employ China’s low-wage labor. Most significantly, the Shenzhen special economic zone set the stage for the country’s meteoric manufacturing-based growth. As a container hub port and special economic zone it is one of the most important ports in the Pearl River Delta region in China’s Guangdong province, often called the “world’s workshop.”