Policy Interpretation of the "Work Plan for Shenzhen to Seize APEC Opportunities and Accelerate the Creation of a First-Class Business Environment
In 2026, the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Informal Meeting will be held in Shenzhen. As a key soft power and core competitiveness of a city, the business environment directly affects the city’s image and the sustained release of post-conference development benefits. Recently, Shenzhen has issued the “Work Plan for Seizing APEC Opportunities to Accelerate the Development of a World-Class Business Environment” (hereinafter referred to as the “Work Plan”). Centered on the core objectives of “serving APEC, enhancing soft power, and unlocking long-term benefits,” the plan focuses on issues of concern to Hong Kong, Macao, foreign nationals, and various business entities, proposing 21 key tasks across five areas: cross-border personnel mobility, international trade logistics, cross-border capital flows, cross-border data flows, and fostering a favorable business atmosphere, thereby continuously advancing Shenzhen’s business environment to higher standards.
The “Work Plan” prioritizes facilitating work and daily life for residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and foreign nationals in Shenzhen, addressing challenges such as language barriers, visa procedures, accommodation, and payment systems, making Shenzhen a city where international friends are “willing to come, stay, and live comfortably.”
First, making healthcare services more welcoming.Addressing the pain points of language barriers and insurance incompatibility faced by foreign patients, the “Work Plan” proposes improving bilingual signage in medical institutions and equipping them with multilingual AI translation devices to ensure seamless communication. Additionally, it supports more hospitals in pursuing international hospital accreditation and connecting with global insurance providers, enabling foreign nationals to access medical care in Shenzhen as conveniently as they would in their home countries.
Second, strengthening immigration policies.Visa facilitation is crucial for attracting international talent and multinational corporations to Shenzhen. The “Work Plan” stipulates issuing visas or residence permits valid for up to two years to foreign executives establishing companies in the Qianhai-Shekou Free Trade Zone, extending these benefits to their families; waiving or relaxing eligibility requirements for AEO enterprises and trade headquarters personnel applying for APEC Business Travel Cards; and providing port-of-entry visa assistance for foreign executives with urgent entry needs. These measures will significantly enhance the efficiency of international business travelers’ cross-border movements.
Third, enhancing convenience in daily life.From smart document readers for hotel check-in to multilingual AI translation devices in hotels, and the launch of digital RMB hard wallet cards themed around APEC with full coverage of key acceptance scenarios, the “Work Plan” takes a meticulous approach to creating a barrier-free living and consumption environment.
Targeting critical links in international trade, the “Work Plan” aims to improve cargo clearance efficiency and logistics convenience through institutional innovation and process reengineering.
First, opening doors wider to the world.The “Work Plan” calls for continued advancement of comprehensive pilot programs to expand service sector openness, promoting higher-level liberalization in key areas such as the internet, education, and culture, while ensuring national treatment for foreign-invested enterprises in terms of resource access and qualification licensing, thus attracting global resources and factors through institutional openness.
Second, accelerating cargo clearance.For temporary import and export needs such as exhibition participation and sample testing, the “Work Plan” proposes completing preparatory work for the global transition phase of the electronic Temporary Admission Carnet (eATA Carnet) project, synchronizing Shenzhen’s ATA Carnet data with the ICC-WCO jointly developed eATA system, enabling real-time data connectivity to achieve “online application, electronic endorsements, and rapid customs clearance,” thereby facilitating temporary imports and exports.
Third, fostering smoother and more integrated logistics networks.It advocates vigorous development of multimodal transport, promoting shifts from road-to-rail and road-to-water transportation, supporting platform-based data exchange and sharing, popularizing single-document and single-container practices to reduce logistics costs and improve transport efficiency. Meanwhile, it encourages Shenzhen to sign green shipping corridor cooperation agreements with international ports, deepening collaboration in areas such as mutual recognition of carbon accounting standards, green fuel refueling, and low-carbon vessel operations, seizing opportunities in the development of green shipping.
The “Work Plan” seeks to enhance the efficiency of cross-border capital movement, providing multinational corporations and businesses with more convenient financial services to attract global capital to Shenzhen.
First, simplifying capital pooling.This includes further advancing the pilot program for integrated domestic and foreign currency cash pools for multinational corporations, expanding participation to more eligible companies, enabling efficient global capital allocation, improving capital utilization, and reducing foreign exchange costs.
Second, refining wealth management services.Leveraging the Cross-Border Wealth Management Connect platform, the plan promotes the implementation of streamlined models for selling and servicing cross-border financial products. By allowing the establishment of three-party online communication channels, it provides investors with professional consultation and explanation services, transforming cross-border wealth management from “limited engagement” to “precision service,” meeting the growing demand among Greater Bay Area residents for cross-border asset allocation.
Third, invigorating equity and investment share transfers.The plan accelerates the rollout of pilot programs for private equity and venture capital share transfers, guiding more resources toward the Qianhai Equity Exchange Center, providing venture capital with a smooth “raise-invest-manage-exit” cycle and activating innovative capital.
Under the premise of balancing development with security, the “Work Plan” proposes cautiously and orderly conducting cross-border data pilot projects, providing compliance assurance for companies engaged in global operations.
First, clarifying compliance guidelines.It urges the issuance of a negative list for outbound data transfer within the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, offering enterprises clear, actionable, and predictable compliance guidance for cross-border data flows.
Second, deepening credit mutual recognition.Actively collaborating with overseas credit rating agencies to promote cross-regional sharing of credit information and mutual recognition of credit assessment results. It also deepens the application of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong cross-border data verification platform, implementing no fewer than ten use cases and encouraging financial institutions to develop cross-border financing products based on this platform, thereby facilitating financing for mainland-funded enterprises operating in Hong Kong and Hong Kong-funded enterprises in the mainland.
It explores establishing mechanisms for sharing clinical test and imaging results between Shenzhen and Hong Kong medical institutions, connecting more Shenzhen hospitals to Hong Kong’s “MediLink” system to enable mutual access and sharing of medical information, bringing tangible convenience to residents of both regions and cross-border patients.
V. Focusing on legal protection, cultivating world-class business environment soft power.The “Work Plan” proposes deepening Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao judicial cooperation and regulatory alignment, enhancing intellectual property protection, and strengthening the city’s cultural appeal to foreign nationals.
First, optimizing commercial dispute resolution.This includes refining procedures for serving documents in civil and commercial cases involving Hong Kong and Macao, intensifying efforts to recruit Hong Kong mediation organizations as specially invited mediators, and actively promoting the establishment of an alliance for identifying foreign laws, positioning Shenzhen as a preferred destination for resolving cross-border commercial disputes.
Second, strengthening intellectual property protection.It explores conducting administrative adjudication and mediation for standard-essential patent infringement disputes, improving working mechanisms to provide efficient, cost-effective, and controllable administrative protection for these high-tech, high-value conflicts, promoting diversified dispute resolution approaches.
Third, enhancing cultural integration.