Shenzhen Uses APEC Hosting to Upgrade Business Environment

Overview

On 23 March 2026 the Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission published a work plan for Shenzhen to seize the opportunities of APEC and accelerate the creation of a first-class business environment. The 21-article plan uses the APEC meetings to be held in Shenzhen in 2026 as an occasion to make life easier for foreign nationals and residents of Hong Kong and Macao, deepen the alignment of rules between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and help companies respond to the greening of trade.

On the same day the Shenzhen Justice Bureau released a 33-article work plan on optimising the rule-of-law business environment in 2026, and around the same time the city also issued a 2026 plan on the market-oriented business environment. In the year it hosts APEC, Shenzhen has introduced a series of measures to improve its business environment.

Background

China holds the APEC chair in 2026, with Shenzhen as the main host city. Leaders, ministers and business representatives from member economies are expected to visit the city. Alongside preparations for the meetings, Shenzhen appears to be improving its rules from the perspective of foreign companies and overseas visitors.

Shenzhen has long experimented with rule alignment with Hong Kong, cross-border data and dispute resolution, especially in the Qianhai and Hetao cooperation zones. The new plan can be seen as bringing these efforts together into a city-wide business environment programme.

Key Points

Main contents of the APEC work plan (21 articles):

• Easier hotel registration: automatic recognition and data-entry technology for Hong Kong and Macao travel permits and foreign passports, to speed up check-in.
• Yacht travel: a better credit management system for yacht entry and exit and a Greater Bay Area yacht data platform built with Hong Kong and Macao.
• Green trade: integrating a Greater Bay Area carbon footprint certification platform into Shenzhen's international trade "single window", with a "green trade" service area offering carbon tariff simulations and green certification services.
• Cross-border wealth management: under the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect, pilot institutions can help investors set up three-way online communication with partner institutions on the other side.
• Mutual recognition of credit information: at least 10 application scenarios for the Shenzhen-Hong Kong cross-border data verification platform, supporting mutual recognition of credit information and cross-border financing products.
• Medical data: exploring the sharing of clinical test and imaging results between medical institutions in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and linking with Hong Kong's eHealth system.
• Judicial cooperation: improving the service of documents in civil and commercial cases involving Hong Kong and Macao, and pilots inviting Hong Kong mediation organisations to act as specially invited mediators.

Main contents of the rule-of-law plan (33 articles): stronger legal support for Qianhai and Hetao, including revising the Qianhai cooperation zone regulations; an action plan for legal services supporting the APEC meetings; research on adjudication standards and rules for AI; promotion of Hong Kong-invested firms choosing Hong Kong law and Hong Kong as the seat of arbitration; and building Shenzhen into a preferred venue for international commercial dispute resolution.

Implications for Japan-Shenzhen Exchange

Faster hotel registration, cross-border sharing of data and credit information, and more options for dispute resolution appear relevant to Japanese business travellers and to Japanese companies with bases in both Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Carbon footprint certification and carbon tariff simulation services, which concern exporters' decarbonisation efforts, are drawing particular attention.

Hosting APEC is likely to raise Shenzhen's international profile further. Japanese companies may find it useful to follow the details of Shenzhen's institutional improvements and apply them to local operations and study visits.

Outlook

The timing and lead agencies for each measure are expected to be clarified in later announcements by the relevant departments. The content of the legal services action plan for the APEC meetings has also yet to be published.

From the Association

The Association will continue to follow changes in Shenzhen's business environment ahead of APEC, and will keep providing information and a platform for exchange for Japanese and Shenzhen companies.