Description
Shenzhen is a special economic zone (SEZ) in China.
Discussion
Shenzhen was part of the first official SEZ legislation in the People's Republic of China, established in 1980.
On 26 August 1980 a resolution established three SEZs in Guangdong Province: Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Shantou.
The resolution was an important aspect of the beginning of Deng Xiaoping's liberal reforms. At the time of the Shenzhen designation becoming an SEZ, the city had less than 30,000 residents. In 2010 the SEZ jurisdiction expanded to include the entire city. As at 2025 the Shenzhen SEZ is home to over 10 million people.
Substantive
Regulations on Special Economic Zones in Guangdong Province
Approved for implementation at the 15th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress on August 26, 1980
Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 In order to develop economic cooperation and technical exchanges with foreign countries and to promote the socialist modernization programme, certain areas shall be delineated respectively in the three cities of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou in Guangdong Province for the establishment of special economic zones (hereinafter referred to as "special zones"), The special zones shall encourage foreign citizens, overseas Chinese, compatriots from Hongkong and Macao and their companies and enterprises (hereinafter referred to as" investors") to open factories and set up enterprises and other establishments with their own investment or in joint ventures with our side, and shall protect their assets, the profits due them and their other lawful rights and interests in accordance with the law. ... Chapter II Registration and Operation Article 7 Investors wishing to open factories or set up various economic undertakings in the special zones with their own investment shall apply to the Guangdong Provincial Committee for the Administration of Special Economic Zones, which shall issue them registration certificates and land use certificates after examination and approval. ... Article 9 Products of the enterprises in the special zones shall be sold on the international market. If their products are to be sold in the interior of China, they must have the approval of the Guangdong Provincial Committee for the Administration of Special Economic Zones and go through the procedures for paying customs duties. ... Chapter III Preferential Treatment Article 12 Land in the special zones is owned by the People's Republic of China. The land to be used by investors shall be provided according to actual needs, and preferential treatment shall be given with respect to the duration of its use, the amount of the use fee and the method of payment according to the different types of business and uses. Provisions for specific measures shall be made separately. Article 13 The machinery and equipment, spare parts, raw and semi-processed materials, means of transportation and other capital goods necessary for production that are imported by enterprises in the special zones shall be exempted from import duties. The necessary consumer goods may either be subjected to import duties or allowed a reduction or exemption therefrom, depending on the specific situation of each case. When the above-mentioned goods are imported or products of the special zones are exported, a customs declaration shall be filed. Article 14 The enterprise income tax rate in the special zones is 15 percent. Special preferential treatment shall be given to enterprises established within two years of the promulgation of these Regulatins, to enterprises with an investment US$ 5 million or more, and to enterprises involving higher technology or having a longer period of capital turnover. Article 15 The lawfuI profit that an investor receives after payment of the enterprise income tax, and the wages and salaries and other legitimate earnings that foreign, overseas Chinese and Hongkong and Macao workers and staff members of an enterprise in the special zones receive after payment of the individual income tax, may be remitted abroad through the Bank of China or other banks in the special zones, in accordance with the provisions of the foreign exchange control measures of the special zones. Article 16 An investor that reinvests its share of the profit in the special zones for a period of five years or longer may apply for a reduction of or an exemption from income tax on the reinvested portion. Article 17 Enterprises in the special zones shall be encouraged to use machinery and equipment, raw and semi-processed materials and other materials produced in China, and preferential prices shall be offered on the basis of China's current export prices for the same kinds of commodities, using foreign exchange to settle accounts. These products and materials may be shipped directly to the special zones with the sales vouchers of the selling units. Article 18 Entry and exit procedures shall be simplified and conveniences given to the foreign personnel, overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hongkong and Macao entering and leaving the special zones. ... Chapter V Administrative Organization Article 23 The Guangdong Provincial Committee for the Administration of Special Economic Zones shall exercise the following functions and powers: (1) to draw up development plans for the special zones and organize their implementation; (2) to examine and approve the investment projects of investors in the special zones; (3) to handle registration of industrial and commercial enterprises and land allotment in the special zones; (4) to coordinate working relations among the banking, insurance, taxation, Customs, frontier inspection, postal and telecommunications and other organizations in the special zones; (5) to provide the staff members andd workers needed by enterprises in the special zones and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the staff members and workers; (6) to establish educational, cultural, health and various public welfare institutions in the special zones; and (7) to maintain law and order in the special zones and protect, in accordance with the law, the persons and property in the special zones against encroachment. Article 24 The Shenzhen Special Zone shall be under the direct management and administration of the Guangdong Provincial Committee for the Administration of Special Economic Zones. Necessary offices shall be set up in the Zhuhai and Shantou Special Zones. Article 25 A Guangdong Provincial Special Economic Zones Development Company shall be set up to suit the expanding economic activities in the special zones. Its scope of business shall include: undertaking to raise funds and handle trust investment business; operating, or jointing with investors in operating, relevant enterprises in the special zones; acting as agent for investors in the special zones in transactions relating to sales and purchases in trade with the interior; and providing services for business talks.