Hetao’s ‘Kehui Tong’ program expands to 16 regions nationwide

　　The "Kehui Tong" pilot program, which was first launched in Shenzhen’s Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, will be extended to 16 regions across the country, including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Xiong’an in Hebei, and Shenzhen, according to a recent announcement by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

　　The “Kehui Tong" is a policy and service platform launched by the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone (Hetao Shenzhen Park), aimed at promoting in-depth collaboration and resource integration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in technological innovation.

　　The original intention of the program was to address the challenges of cross-border fund allocation for research institutions in the Hetao Shenzhen Park. At the time, most research institutions in the park are public institutions or non-enterprise organizations, which are not included in the existing cross-border foreign currency fund management system. As a result, they are not eligible for receiving overseas research funds, posing practical difficulties for the establishment and operation of these institutions.

　　To address this, the Hetao Shenzhen Park actively sought support from the SAFE. In September 2023, the Shenzhen Branch of the SAFE issued the "Operational Guidelines for the 'Kehui Tong' pilot program in the Hetao Shenzhen Park," marking the official launch of the "Kehui Tong" program.

　　The pilot program allows overseas research funds to be directly transferred to non-enterprise research institutions within the park. These institutions can now conveniently handle foreign exchange registration, remittance, modification, and cancelation at banks in Shenzhen, with account opening and fund usage benefiting from foreign exchange facilitation policies. This breakthrough institutionalizes the channel for research funds to enter the country, significantly promoting the cross-border flow of innovation resources.

　　Since then, several research institutions, including the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation and Translational Medicine Research Institute, have been among the pioneers to experience the convenience of the "Kehui Tong," successfully bringing in research funds and contributing to the economic development of the pilot region. The "Kehui Tong provides an effective pathway for cross-border allocation of research funds. Research institutions can now handle all foreign exchange transactions at banks in one stop, enjoying the same convenience as commercial enterprises, which strongly supports technological R&D and industrialization," said Wang Xuelei, executive director of the medicine research institute. As the first institute to pilot the "Kehui Tong" program, it successfully received its first batch of overseas research funds, totaling over 1 million yuan. (US$137,780).

　　In addition, the "Kehui Tong" program has optimized the entire lifecycle and chain management of research institutions, laying a solid foundation for cross-border flows of innovation resources and collaboration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in the technology industry. This has effectively driven the coordinated advancement of technological innovation and economic development in the Hetao Shenzhen Park.

　　According to the State Council's promulgation of the development plan for the Hetao Shenzhen Park regarding regulating cross-border flows of innovation-related funds, the plan proposes allowing research funds to cross borders to support Shenzhen-Hong Kong research projects. Drawing on international experience and Hong Kong practices, it aims to refine the regulatory system for research funds. In the next step, the Hetao Development Agency will collaborate with the Shenzhen Branch of the People’s Bank of China and the Shenzhen Branch of SAFE to conduct research on cross-border funding needs related to scientific research.

　　This will help identify bottlenecks that the policy fails to address, further expand the scope of the policy, and deepen and refine the pilot program. The goal is to fully unleash the policy’s benefits, enabling more eligible research institutions to enjoy the advantages of institutional innovation and cross-border fund flows in the Hetao Shenzhen Park.