The Shekou Industrial Zone on the Nantou Peninsula was approved as an early experiment in opening-up policies under China Merchants Group leadership, becoming a key precursor model for Shenzhen’s later SEZ-based development.
China’s State Council approved renaming Bao’an County to Shenzhen and establishing Shenzhen as a city, laying the administrative foundation for later SEZ governance and rapid urban-industrial expansion.
The CPC Central Committee and State Council approved special policies for foreign economic activity and decided to establish pilot special economic zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen—marking the formal start of the SEZ initiative.
China’s central leadership formally adopted the term “Special Economic Zones,” consolidating policy language for the four early pilot zones and reinforcing their role as national-level reform experiments.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress approved the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Special Economic Zones in Guangdong Province, providing a legal framework for SEZ governance and policy experimentation in Shenzhen (and Guangdong’s other SEZs).
The State Council approved establishment of the Xiamen SEZ, extending the early SEZ program beyond Guangdong and strengthening Fujian’s role in China’s outward-oriented reform strategy.
Shekou’s reform culture was symbolized by Yuan Geng’s slogan “Time is Money, Efficiency is Life,” publicized in 1981 and later associated nationally with “Shenzhen speed” and the ethos of SEZ-led modernization.
Deng Xiaoping visited Shenzhen and Zhuhai, endorsing SEZ development and helping legitimize accelerated experimentation in investment, management, and market-oriented reforms within the zones.
Following early SEZ experience, China expanded openness by designating 14 coastal cities for greater foreign trade and investment, broadening the geographic scope of reform beyond the initial zones and reinforcing the national “open door” trajectory.
China Merchants Bank was founded in Shenzhen, becoming a landmark financial innovation associated with the reform-era experimentation of the Shenzhen/Shekou environment and the growth of modern financial institutions supporting industrial expansion.
Shenzhen conducted an early public auction of land-use rights, an important step in China’s gradual marketization of urban land allocation and a practical policy innovation tested through SEZ reform autonomy.
Ping An Insurance was established in Shenzhen as China’s first joint-stock insurance company, reflecting Shenzhen’s role as a national testbed for new corporate forms and financial-sector experimentation.
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange was formally founded, strengthening the city’s role in China’s emerging capital markets and providing new financing channels that complemented Shenzhen’s industrial and high-tech growth.
Deng Xiaoping’s southern tour included visits to Shenzhen and other southern cities; his remarks reinforced the reform and opening-up line and helped revive market-oriented policy momentum after the post-1989 slowdown.
Shenzhen established its national-level high-tech industrial development zone, institutionalizing support for technology-intensive industries and helping shift Shenzhen’s growth model toward innovation-driven manufacturing and R&D.
Shenzhen officials reported that high-tech products had become a leading contributor to the city’s industrial output, illustrating the late-1990s transition from labor-intensive manufacturing toward higher value-added technology sectors.
Special Economic Zones and Shenzhen's Development (1979–2000)
