Reform and opening-up offers HK more opportunities
Confucius was quoted as saying, “A man should be more or less independent at 30 but life will not begin until he turns 40.” This year marked the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up. In human terms one is expected to know what he wants in life as well as right or wrong at 40, but what the nation has experienced in the past four decades of profound changes is beyond words. Forty years can barely be described as a ripple in the endless river of human history, but 40 years of reform and opening-up has changed Chinese people’s lives with an economic miracle the world had never seen before. Hong Kong has played a unique and irreplaceable role in the country’s reform and opening-up in the past 40 years. Hong Kong society has every reason to be proud of its contributions to the success of reform and opening-up of the nation as well as its own achievements, particularly in the past 21 years since the city became a special administrative region of the country on July 1, 1997.
I visited neighboring Shenzhen and my ancestral hometown Dongguan more than 40 years ago, when all I saw was typical rural Guangdong similar to Hong Kong’s country parks in the New Territories. Since Deng Xiaoping launched the reform and opening-up 40 years ago Shenzhen has always been the most successful special economic zone in the country and grown from an obscure little coastal town to a vibrant modern metropolis of more than 10 million for the whole world to marvel at. The Lonely Planet, one of the most popular travel guides in the world, likes Shenzhen so much it lists the city as the second of the top 10 destinations in 2019. That means many foreign visitors were so impressed by Shenzhen they highly recommend it to those who have not been there.
Last year, the total value of Shenzhen’s GDP reached 2.2 trillion yuan ($317 billion); while its per capita annual income topped regional economies in the mainland at 183,100 yuan. It is now home to some of the country’s most important high-tech companies, a major base for innovation, the third-largest financial center of the nation, the third-largest container port in the world, boasting the highest total value in export and import among major cities of the country at 2.8 trillion yuan last year and its economic aggregate is now at Hong Kong’s level. It is truly a The author is the chairman of Fong Shu Fook Tong Foundation and the Fong’s Family Foundation The author is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference rare example in the history of urban development of the world.
Great achievements from the reform and opening-up are not only found in the development of various industries and sectors by leaps and bounds but also in the daily life of Chinese people. Looking ahead the future of the country’s reform and opening-up will no doubt reach a new level of high-quality development after decades of emphasis on fast pace. Only by continued innovation can we drive economic development forward in the new era. The ongoing trade row between the US and China has showed us yet again that only countries capable of inno-tech breakthroughs are true leaders in economic development and China must achieve its economic transformation no matter what. The GuangdongHong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster development will give Hong Kong more opportunities to integrate its own development into the country’s overall development strategy, which is a blessing and challenge at the same time. Hong Kong society must seize the opportunity and dive right in.
Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area are related by blood, cultural and economic ties. They have always had similarities as well as uniqueness in economic development. As a window on the world Hong Kong has easy access to science and technology information, advanced finance and free market, worldclass universities that boast high-caliber talents and effective law and judicial system. Combined with the mainland market and industry chains in the Pearl River Delta region it is only a matter of time before the Greater Bay Area becomes China’s answer to Silicon Valley of the US. With the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, currently the longest of its kind in the world, now open to traffic, the Bay Area is more connected than ever and puts Lantau Island in an advantageous position to link the other cities in the Greater Bay Area to the outside world. The HZMB will no doubt boost the prospects of Lantau Tomorrow as a future development vision for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area as well, which is why President Xi Jinping attended the HZMB opening ceremony in person to demonstrate the great importance the central government authorities attach to the city cluster development. By doing so he also boosted Hong Kong society’s confidence in its future.
Hong Kong society has every reason to be proud of its contributions to the success of reform and opening-up of the nation as well as its own achievements...