To all District People’s Governments and all Departments directly under the Municipal Government:

To thoroughly implement the Scientific Outlook on Development, fully mobilize and leverage the enthusiasm of social investment, and enhance the vitality and synergy of economic development, based on the spirit of documents including the “Several Opinions of the State Council on Encouraging and Guiding the Healthy Development of Private Investment,” the “Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta Region (2008-2020)” approved by the State Council, and the “Overall Plan for Comprehensive Supporting Reforms in Shenzhen,” the following opinions are hereby put forward to further encourage and guide social investment.

I. Overall Requirements for Further Encouraging and Guiding Social Investment

(1) Definition and Scope. Social investment refers to investment other than government investment, mainly including private investment with collectives, shareholding cooperatives, joint ventures, limited liability companies, joint stock limited companies, private enterprises, and individuals as the main investment entities; investment by state-owned or state-controlled enterprises and institutions; and foreign investment with foreign or Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan enterprises as the main investment entities.

(2) Significant Importance. Further encouraging and guiding social investment is conducive to continuing to expand effective investment demand and promoting stable and rapid economic and social development; to optimizing and adjusting the investment structure and improving the quality and efficiency of economic and social development; to stimulating the endogenous driving force of economic development and enhancing the city’s comprehensive strength and development potential; to increasing employment and market prosperity and accelerating the construction of a city focused on people’s well-being and happiness; and to deepening the reform of the investment system and establishing a sound socialist market economy system.

(3) Guiding Ideology. In accordance with the overall requirements for improving the socialist market economy system, fully leverage the fundamental role of the market in resource allocation. Encourage and guide social capital to enter industries and fields not explicitly prohibited by laws and regulations, focus on standardizing and setting market access thresholds, and broaden the fields and scope of social investment. Focus on protecting the legitimate rights and interests of social investment, creating a market environment of fair competition and equal access. Focus on optimizing and adjusting the investment structure, promoting the rational flow and effective allocation of production factors. Focus on deepening the reform of the investment and financing system, enriching and improving financing channels for social investment. Focus on enhancing policy synergy and linkage, and steadily build a new social investment system characterized by government guidance, enterprise decision-making, comprehensive policies, standardized self-discipline, fairness, transparency, health, and vitality.

(4) Basic Principles. Adhere to government guidance and enterprise decision-making, with government investment and social investment mutually reinforcing and complementing each other to enhance the confidence and willingness for social investment. Adhere to reform, innovation, and pioneering trials, combining measures to lower thresholds and broaden scope to expand the depth and breadth of social investment. Adhere to fairness, transparency, and key support, with policy incentives and service guidance complementing each other to safeguard the rights and returns of social investment. Adhere to an international orientation and strategic introduction, promoting the integrated development of domestic and foreign capital to enhance the vitality and dynamism of social investment. Adhere to focusing on the present while looking to the long term, balancing total volume with structural optimization to improve the quality and efficiency of social investment.

II. Further Broadening the Fields and Scope of Social Investment

(5) Operational Infrastructure Fields. Promote social capital participation in the investment, construction, operation, and management of operational infrastructure such as intercity and urban rail transit, highways, airports, ports, information facilities, and communications through methods like project legal person bidding and share offerings, using models such as shareholding, controlling stakes, sole proprietorship, joint ventures, cooperation, joint operations, acquisitions, and franchising. For completed state-owned operational infrastructure investment projects, ownership or operational rights may, upon approval, be legally transferred to other social enterprises.

(6) Basic Industries Fields. Encourage social capital to invest in and construct storage, transportation, and pipeline network facilities for natural gas and refined oil; new energy industries such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass energy; projects to improve the utilization efficiency of oil, gas, and electricity resources; and basic industries such as chemicals and raw materials. Support social capital to participate in the construction of hydropower and thermal power stations through sole proprietorship, controlling stakes, or shareholding, and to participate in the construction of nuclear power plants through shareholding. Accelerate the deepening of reforms in monopoly industries, introduce competition mechanisms, and achieve diversification of investment entities. Encourage social capital to broaden channels into basic industries by expanding bond financing scale and accelerating the development of equity financing, among other methods.

(7) Municipal Public Utilities Fields. Promote social capital investment in and construction of municipal facility projects

Pearl River Delta Region

The Pearl River Delta Region in southern China is a historically significant economic and cultural hub, centered around the Pearl River estuary. Its modern prominence grew from ancient trade routes and its role as a starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, but it is now best known as a leading global manufacturing center and the core of China’s rapid economic development since the 1980s. The region includes major cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, forming one of the world’s largest and most dynamic urban areas.

Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a major city in Guangdong Province, China, originally a small fishing village. It was designated as China’s first Special Economic Zone in 1980, which triggered its rapid transformation into a global hub for technology, manufacturing, and finance. Today, it is known as a modern metropolis symbolizing China’s economic reform and innovation.

Several Opinions of the State Council on Encouraging and Guiding the Healthy Development of Private Investment

“Several Opinions of the State Council on Encouraging and Guiding the Healthy Development of Private Investment” is not a physical place or cultural site, but a significant Chinese policy document. Issued in 2010, it aimed to expand market access and reduce barriers for private capital in state-dominated sectors. This policy represented a key effort to stimulate economic vitality by promoting private sector growth alongside state-owned enterprises.

Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta Region (2008-2020)

The Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta Region (2008-2020) was a major national strategic blueprint from China’s central government. It aimed to transform the Pearl River Delta into a globally competitive, advanced manufacturing and modern services hub by 2020 through deeper economic integration and institutional innovation. Historically, the plan built upon the region’s legacy as a pioneer of China’s “reform and opening-up” policy that began in the late 1970s.

Overall Plan for Comprehensive Supporting Reforms in Shenzhen

The “Overall Plan for Comprehensive Supporting Reforms in Shenzhen” is a major policy initiative launched in 2020 by the Chinese government. It aims to further develop Shenzhen into a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics by 2025, with a focus on deepening reforms in areas like market economy, rule of law, and opening-up. This plan builds upon Shenzhen’s historic role since 1980 as China’s first and most successful Special Economic Zone, which pioneered the country’s economic reforms and opening-up policies.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China, originally a British colony from 1842 until its handover in 1997. It is renowned as a global financial hub and vibrant metropolis, famous for its iconic skyline, Victoria Harbour, and unique fusion of Eastern and Western cultures. Its history as a major port and trading center has shaped its dynamic, cosmopolitan character.

Macao

Macao, officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of China, is a former Portuguese colony and trading post established in the mid-16th century. It was the first and last European colony in Asia, with Portuguese administration lasting until its handover to China in 1999. Today, it is renowned for its unique blend of Chinese and Portuguese cultures, evident in its historic center—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—and its modern identity as a major global gaming destination.

Taiwan

Taiwan is an island located off the southeastern coast of China, with a rich history shaped by indigenous cultures, successive waves of Chinese settlement, and periods of Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese rule. It is renowned for its vibrant democracy, technological industry, and cultural landmarks such as Taipei 101 and the National Palace Museum, which houses one of the world’s finest collections of Chinese imperial artifacts. According to the One-China Principle, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.