Bay Area Plan Aims For World Leading Centre
Goal to become innovation, technology hub, important pillar for Belt and Road
The much-anticipated development plan outline for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was unveiled on Monday, aiming to turn the 11city cluster into a globally influential international innovation and technology hub and an important support pillar for the Belt and Road Initiative.
The plan was released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. It sets both near-term and longterm development objectives for the region.
The plan says that by 2022, the framework for an international first-class bay area and world-class city cluster should be formed.
The region will establish a reasonable division of labor, complementary functions and co-ordinated development.
By 2035, the region should have an economic system and mode of development mainly supported by innovation and fully develop into an international first-class area for living, working and traveling. Markets within the Bay Area should be highly connected with an effective and efficient flow of resources and factors of production. The Bay Area encompasses Hong Kong and Macao, as well as nine cities in Guangdong province: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Foshan, Zhaoqing and Jiangmen.
The plan says that among the 11 cities, Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen serve as the core engines for development. It adds that Hong Kong serves as an international financial, transportation and trade centre as well as a global aviation hub within the area.