In 1980, when Shenzhen was established as a special economic zone, its GDP was 270 million yuan ($40 million) and its permanent population numbered fewer than 30,000. By 2025, the city's GDP had reached 3.87 trillion yuan and its population topped 20 million, a more than 14,000-fold increase in economic output. Experts discuss "Decoding the Shenzhen Miracle Code" during the Asia-Pacific Media Forum Shenzhen Sub-forum in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Sept. 4, 2026. [Photo/China.org.cn] Experts from China, Pakistan, Singapore and the United States discussed what drives the city and what its rise means for the broader Asia-Pacific region at the panel, titled "Decoding the Shenzhen Miracle Code," held Sept. 4 during the Shenzhen sub-forum of the Asia-Pacific Media Forum. Guo Renzhong, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Research Institute for Smart Cities at Shenzhen University, traced Shenzhen's smart city work back to the 1990s. He said the city received an award for its geographic information applications at the 2013 Geospatial World Forum in Rotterdam, showing that China had developed its own approach to urban geographic information systems. In 2024, Shenzhen won the City Award, the top honor of the World Smart City Awards, at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, chosen from 429 cities in 64 countries and regions. "Shenzhen's successful experience can serve as a reference for any city in the world," Guo said, adding that Shenzhen companies have already carried out smart city projects in Singapore, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Taylor Ogan, founder and CEO of Snow Bull Capital, moved his company from Boston to Shenzhen three and a half years ago. "Boston is a great city of thinkers," he said. "But Shenzhen is where thinkers become makers. That's a key difference." He noted that Silicon Valley