Yuan Geng

Yuan Geng, the founder of the Shekou Industrial Zone in Shenzhen and a reform trailblazer, died yesterday at age 99.

Shenzhen Party chief Ma Xingrui and Mayor Xu Qin paid a visit to the China Merchants Group Museum in Shekou yesterday, where a memorial was set up to Yuan. They offered their condolences to Yuan’s family. A memorial service will be held Thursday at the Shenzhen Funeral Home.

Yesterday was also the birthday of the Shekou Industrial Zone, which was approved by the State on Jan. 31, 1979, becoming a “test tube” for China’s reform.

While serving as the executive vice chairman of the board of directors of China Merchants Group, Yuan, a native of Shenzhen, proposed to the Central Government in 1978 the establishment of the Shekou Industrial Zone.

Yuan, as head of the Shekou Industrial Zone, implemented a series of reform policies and coined the slogan “Time is money and efficiency is life,” which influenced China during its opening-up drive.

The housing reform ended the allocation of homes by the government and State-owned enterprises, which was practiced elsewhere in China. The reform laid the foundation for the thriving housing market.

Yuan introduced performance-based salaries, scrapping the decades-old Chinese practice that paid salaries according to a person’s rank, regardless of performance. He also helped put together a construction project bidding system and a social security system.

Shekou is the cradle of big companies in China, including Ping An Insurance and China Merchants Bank. One-third of Shenzhen’s expats live there.