Promoting reform and opening up from a higher starting point—Guangdong chapter along the footsteps of the general secretary

Xinhua Xinhua

Xinhua News Agency reporter

Lianhua Mountain in Shenzhen, the alpine banyan tree planted by General Secretary Xi Jinping ten years ago, has deep roots and luxuriant leaves and branches. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has visited Guangdong three times, guiding Guangdong to emancipate its mind, make bold innovations, and strive to be at the forefront of the country and create new brilliance in the new journey of building a socialist modernized country in an all-round way. Bearing in mind the general secretary’s entrustment, Guangdong adheres to the new development concept, adheres to high-quality development, bravely stands at the forefront, forges ahead, and promotes reform and opening up with greater courage and a higher starting point.

“Reform will not stop, opening will not stop”

Here, it is the place where China’s reform and opening up took the lead, and it is also one of the regions with the highest degree of openness and the strongest economic vitality in China.

In December 2012, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to Guangdong for his first inspection after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and issued a mobilization order to “continue to push reform and opening up”.

In October 2018, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, General Secretary Xi Jinping once again set foot on the hot land of Guangdong, calling on Guangdong to “continue to comprehensively deepen reform, comprehensively expand opening up, and strive to create new and greater miracles that will impress the world”.

In October 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Guangdong again, releasing the strong voice of the era of reform and opening up – “Reform will not stop, opening will not stop, and reform and opening will be promoted from a higher starting point.”

On the coast of the South China Sea, the spring tide is surging.

The construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a major national development strategy personally planned, deployed and promoted by General Secretary Xi Jinping.

More than three years after the release of the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan”, the economic aggregate of the Greater Bay Area has grown from more than 10 trillion yuan in 2018 to about 12.6 trillion yuan in 2021.

Accelerate the construction of Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, develop and construct Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, continue to strengthen the connection with Hong Kong and Macao rules and mechanisms, focus on promoting the “Bay Area Link” project of the three places, and create a “Digital Bay Area” , major reforms such as the “Cross-border Wealth Management Connect” business pilot, the Greater Bay Area lawyer’s practice exam, etc. have taken effect…

Hengqin Island, which used to be “green banana forests and sparse farms”, is now full of avenues; Qianhai, which was once covered with wild tidal flats, is now full of prosperity; the three-dimensional transportation network covering 11 cities is becoming more and more dense, and “one-hour life” “Circle” was formed; “Hong Kong tax, Macao tax” was implemented; dozens of Hong Kong and Macao professional qualifications such as lawyers and doctors were recognized by cities in the Guangdong Bay Area, and the Greater Bay Area has become a hot spot for many Hong Kong and Macao youths to pursue their dreams…

The tides are wide on both sides of the Pearl River, and the weather in southern Guangdong is new.

In August 2019, the “Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Supporting Shenzhen to Build a Pilot Demonstration Zone of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” was released. Shenzhen, which was born and prospered by reform, has been given a more important mission: to explore replicable and generalizable experiences for deepening reform at the national level. For more than two years, Guangdong Province and Shenzhen City have made every effort to implement various tasks. Among the 56 key tasks proposed in the opinions, 11 items, including the exploration of intellectual property securitization, have been completed, and 45 items including the establishment of Ocean University have made significant progress. A total of 5 items have been completed. In this regard, 47 experiences have been promoted across the country, and the role of leading demonstrations has been further demonstrated.

From the implementation of the first batch of 40 authorized items of the Shenzhen comprehensive reform pilot, to the 36 reforms in the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone that were initiated nationwide; Stabilizing the supply chain and deepening cooperation with countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”… Guangdong has comprehensively deepened its reform and expanded opening up, expanding a broader space for high-quality development and injecting a steady stream of new kinetic energy.

“Strive to achieve independent and controllable key core technologies, and firmly grasp the initiative of innovation and development in our own hands”

Innovation is not only the urgent need for high-quality development in Guangdong, but also the source of power for making the strategic pivot of the new development pattern solid and strong.

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized when participating in the deliberation of the Guangdong delegation at the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress that development is the first priority, talent is the first resource, and innovation is the first driving force. If China does not follow the path of innovation-driven development, the old and new kinetic energy cannot be smoothly transformed, and China cannot become truly strong.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has high hopes for Shenzhen: “In recent years, Shenzhen’s high-tech industry has developed into a national banner, and it must play a leading role in demonstration.”

In 2021, the output value of Shenzhen’s high-tech industries will exceed 3 trillion yuan, and it is building an innovative, entrepreneurial and creative capital with global influence.

In December 2012, when General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd., he expressed hope that it will continue to maintain its innovative advantages. In October 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out when he inspected Gree Electric Appliances Co., Ltd. that he should “strive to realize the independent and controllable key core technologies, and firmly grasp the initiative of innovation and development in our own hands”.

To maintain the leading development and competitive advantage, innovation is the first driving force. In 2012, Tencent developed WeChat and Wechat with about 300 million registered accounts, and now the combined monthly active accounts of the two have reached 1.288 billion, making them one of the most mainstream instant messaging tools in the world. Tencent truly understands that in the future, the competition of enterprises is based on innovative capabilities and core technologies. It insists on using innovative methods to make breakthroughs, actively responds to the digital China strategy, and strives to become an assistant for the digital transformation and upgrading of all walks of life.

High-level scientific and technological self-reliance is becoming the direction of efforts of local governments and enterprises. Gree Electric has continuously deepened its understanding of the importance of adhering to the development path of self-reliance and independent innovation. R&D funds are invested as needed without upper limit, and it continues to make efforts in the fields of intelligent equipment, communication equipment, molds and other fields, not only in the field of air conditioning. , and also realized the autonomous control of key components.

Innovation is not the preserve of big business. In the center of Guangzhou Development Zone’s Science and Technology Enterprise Accelerator Park, there is a huge boulder engraved with the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping: “Small and medium-sized enterprises can do great things”, which inspires the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises.

“Practice has made us deeply realize that without strengthening independent innovation, it is impossible to achieve new development, let alone ‘do great things’.” Guangzhou Mingluo Equipment Co., Ltd. has continuously increased its independent innovation products and entered the international market four years ago. The business now accounts for more than 70% of the company’s revenue.

Innovation has become the basis for high-quality development in Guangdong: the number of high-tech enterprises has exceeded 60,000; the total social R&D expenditure has increased to more than 380 billion yuan, accounting for 3.14% of the regional GDP; the comprehensive regional innovation capability has been ranked for 5 consecutive years. Ranked first in the country.

Build and make good use of the Pengcheng Laboratory and Guangzhou Laboratory, strengthen basic research, promote the construction of an international scientific and technological innovation center in the Greater Bay Area, and strengthen the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong, Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao Science and Technology Innovation Corridor… Guangdong is committed to climbing the peak of science and technology, and strive to Take the initiative of innovation and development firmly in your own hands.

“Improve development balance and coordination”

“The unbalanced development of urban and rural areas is the biggest shortcoming of high-quality development in Guangdong.” In October 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during his inspection in Guangdong, “We must adhere to dialectical thinking, change concepts, and strive to turn shortcomings into ‘potential boards’. “, and urged to “improve the balance and coordination of development”.

In order to promote rural revitalization and promote coordinated regional development, since 2018, Guangdong has implemented three projects of “Guangdong Cuisine Master”, “Guangdong Mechanic” and “Southern Guangdong Housekeeping”, using “small incisions” to promote “big changes”, meet “big needs”, and promote “New development” helps narrow the gap between urban and rural areas, between the Pearl River Delta and the east, west and north of Guangdong. Up to now, the three projects have trained 7.68 million person-times accumulatively, becoming a popular livelihood brand. Thousands of cooks, craftsmen, and nannies have taken off the “poverty hat” and changed their lives and family destiny.

Lu Keming, who is in his early 50s, is a beneficiary of the “Cantonese Cuisine Master” project. He was unemployed 4 years ago and obtained a professional qualification as a chef after training. Today, Lu Keming’s “Gaocheng Renjia” farmhouse in Dongzhen Street, Maoming City is well-known far and wide.

It is necessary to make the strong stronger and the superior to be better, and also let the pursuers take advantage of the latecomers. Guangdong is building a regional development pattern of “one core, one belt, one area”: ​​the development level of the core area of ​​​​the Pearl River Delta continues to improve, and the coastal economic belt The agglomeration of industries has accelerated, and the green development of the northern ecological development zone has shown results.

For the underdeveloped areas in eastern Guangdong, western Guangdong and northern Guangdong, strengthen the use of industry to supplement agriculture and cities to lead villages, and build a modern agricultural industry system of “cross-county clusters, one county, one park, one town, one industry, and one village and one product”.

The Lianzhang Village in Qingyuan City, which General Secretary Xi Jinping visited, has a new look: the muddy road has become a cement road, achieving continuous 5G coverage, and the fruit and vegetable greenhouses in the modern agricultural industrial park are equipped with environmental monitoring systems.

Lu Feihong, secretary of the Party branch of Lianzhang Village, said that through the development of characteristic rural tourism, we adopted the model of “company + cooperative + base + poor households” to attract investment to develop special industries such as ganoderma lucidum and medicinal materials, and the life of the villagers became more and more prosperous.

Standing on a new starting point, the stage is wider. The core area of ​​the Pearl River Delta, the coastal economic belt, and the northern ecological development area have competed on their respective runways to win gold medals and exhibit their strengths. The picture of regional coordinated development is getting better and better. (Reporters Xu Jinpeng, Ye Qian, Zhan Yijia, Sun Fei)