China unveils plan to build Shenzhen into socialist demonstration area

China unveiled a reform plan on Sunday to build China's southern city of Shenzhen into a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The building of the demonstration area will help deepen reform and expand opening-up comprehensively, said the document jointly issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

By 2025, Shenzhen will become one of the world's leading cities in terms of economic strength and development quality. Its research and development input, industrial innovation capacity, and the quality of its public services and the ecological environment will be first-rate in the world, according to the plan.

The document said the Chinese government will support deepening exploration in the land management system, which will give the Shenzhen government more room and flexibility to manage its land system and market.

The Chinese government will also support Shenzhen to be the pioneer in building a capital market. Shenzhen's ChiNext board gas just streamlined the listing process in June and allowed IPO pricing to be fully determined by the market.

Per the plan, the government will further loosen restrictions on foreign investment in cutting-edge technologies in the tech hub.

Shenzhen is China's first special economic zone. The city has a population of over 13 million, and its gross domestic product was nearly 2.7 trillion yuan (about $396.9 billion). Known as China's Silicon Valley, Shenzhen is also home to high-tech companies like Huawei, Tencent, ZTE, and DJI.