Shenzhen's top government official has challenged claims that a number of top technologyfirms were ready to move their headquarters out of the booming southern metropolis.
Xu Qin, mayor of Shenzhen, said that Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp haveassured him that their headquarters and research and development centers would stay inthe city.
However, the firms do intend to transfer some of the manufacturing operations to nearbycities, including Dongguan.
"Huawei has told the government in an official letter that it would not move itsheadquarters and research and development center out of Shenzhen. So did ZTE," Xu said.
Xu's remarks were in a response to recent reports that Huawei would move to theneighboring city of Dongguan, citing high costs in Shenzhen.
And he explained that the shift of some manufacturing operations "was part of thecompany's strategic plans, which are in accordance with government policy to optimize thelocal industrial structure".
Xu made the remarks at an international forum in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, onsustainable urban development within the context of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The event was attended by a number of foreign presidents and prime ministers, as well ashigh-ranking officials from Chinese and international industrial organizations.
In an earlier statement, Huawei said it would be a normal business practice to adjust theresponsibility of different entities by relocating part of its business to other cities.
"Huawei has been setting up all kinds of branches and research institutions across Chinaand even in overseas markets since a couple of years ago to better support the company'sglobal expansion," said the statement.
Huawei, which realized 395 billion yuan ($60.8 billion) in revenue last year, set up amanufacturing company in Dongguan's Songshanhu Industrial Park in 2012 and it hassince increased its investment in the city, which is about a one-hour drive from Shenzhen.
According to Xu, more than 17,000 manufacturers have been closed in the past five yearsin Shenzhen, due to the local authorities' plan to upgrade industries.
"The manufacturing businesses being closed were not of high quality, they were notcompetitive in the global market, and they consumed a great deal of energy," Xu said.
ZTE has planned to move its processing and manufacturing businesses for mobile devicesto Heyuan, a city about 170 kilometers from Shenzhen.
Shenzhen will become a global innovative center in the years ahead by investing more inresearch and development in the technology sector to attract more high-end domestic andforeign businesses, Xu said.
China Daily |
.jpg)
