On the morning of 23 Oct 2020, the Mudanjiang-Greater Bay Area Investment Promotion Conference and Industrial Projects Cooperation Signing Ceremony, sponsored by the government of Mudanjiang city in Heilongjiang province, was successfully held in Dongguan. Prof. Tao Yitao, director of the China Center for Special Economic Zone Research (CCSEZR), a key research base for humanities and social sciences under the Ministry of Education, president of Belt and Road Research Institute of Shenzhen University, and dean of the Belt and Road Research Institute (Shenzhen) for International Cooperation and Development (BRRI), together with associate Prof. Li Fan, director assistant of the CCSEZR, attended the conference on invitation, and signed the strategic framework agreement for the Collaborative Training and Practice Base run by the Theoretical Economics Postdoctoral Research Station of Shenzhen University (hereinafter referred to as the Station) and Mudanjiang Economic Development Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Development Zone).
At the conference, Xu Liren, member of the Standing Committee of the Mudanjiang Municipal Committee and municipal secretary-general, presided over the event; Qi Zhongyan, deputy mayor of Mudanjiang, made a speech about the city profile and for promoting the 4th Heilongjiang Tourism Development Conference; Wang Shiwei, member of the Standing Committee of the Mudanjiang Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Suifenhe Municipal Committee, made a promotional speech for the Heilongjiang Free Trade Zone (Suifenhe); Yang Yanshuang, Secretary of the Mudanjiang Municipal Committee also delivered a speech. Other attendees include Chen Shijun, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for the Dedicated Cooperation Between Heilongjiang and Guangdong; Qi Zhongyan, deputy mayor of Mudanjiang; Song Jingdong, deputy secretary-general of Mudanjiang; Yu Lijun, deputy mayor of Dongguan; He Heqi, chairman of Guangdong Guanjia Group; Shang Congjing, president of Shenzhen-Mudanjiang Chamber of Commerce; Liu Yuzhan, president of Guangdong-Heilongjiang Chamber of Commerce; Huo Zhiwei, president of Zhuhai-Heilongjiang Chamber of Commerce. The signing ceremony for 37 co-operational industrial projects between Mudanjiang and the Greater Bay Area was held at the conference.
The signing ceremony takes place in the presence of Prof. Tao Yitao together with the government and business representatives.
Associate Professor Li Fan is signing the agreement with the Development Zone, on behalf of the Station.
The Station was founded in Oct 2012, with the approval of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the PRC. Since its foundation, the Station has recruited nearly 150 postdoctoral fellows, and undertaken more than 80 government-sponsored research projects such as projects sponsored by the National Social Science Fund, and published hundreds of academic papers in authoritative journals inside and outside China. Theoretical Economics in Shenzhen University (SZU) is one of the Peak Academic Subjects of Guangdong province; the subject includes a first-level discipline doctoral program and a first-level discipline master program in theoretical economics. The Station leverages support from the CCSEZR and is a key research base for humanities and social sciences under the Ministry of Education, with significant clout in the field of international SEZ research. The Station has established training and practice bases in Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kashgar, Harbin, and at the Party School of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, Shenzhen HTI Group Co., Ltd., and Qianhai Institute for Innovative Research, etc.
In Mar 2017, the General Office of the State Council issued the Work Plan for the Dedicated Cooperation Between Certain Provinces and Cities in Northeast China and Eastern China, and established the dedicated cooperation relationship between Heilongjiang and Guangdong, providing policy and institutional support for the two provinces’ comprehensive cooperation. Shenzhen, as the most vanguard city in the country’s reform and opening-up, has gained rich experience in such diverse aspects as development concepts, systems and mechanisms, economic development, industry upgrade and urbanization. The CCSEZR, as a key research base under the Ministry of Education, enjoys unique academic and geographic advantages in a wide range of research fields such as economic theory, SEZ experience study, interpretation of national strategies, policy and approach consultation, high-end talent training, domestic and international academic exchange, etc. besides its mature operation scheme and practical experience.
The Station and the Development Zone have hammered out the bilateral collaboration mechanism for the training and practice center after thorough research and multiple sessions of negotiation. According to the strategic framework of the cooperation, the two parties will leverage their own technical and institutional advantages to provide practically helpful services to the local economic and social development of Mudanjiang by combining the SUZ’s think tank with local reality. The cooperation will prove to be of great practical significance for carrying out the country’s strategy to revitalize the traditional industrial bases, sharing Shenzhen SEZ’s successful experience, empowering cadre training and talent cultivation, and promoting academic collaboration and exchange.
