China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Bay Area expected to unleash power
Vice-Premier Han Zheng said on Wednesday that the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area must fully utilize the advantages of the “one country, two systems” principle. It also must unleash the integrated power of Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, Han said.
The member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China outlined instructions, chairing the first official meeting of the nation’s top decision-making unit on the area’s development — the leading group for the development of the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area.
Implementation of the Greater Bay Area is a national strategy planned and deployed by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Han said.
Development of the city cluster, consisting of nine mainland cities and two special administrative regions, should uphold “one country, two systems” and strictly adhere to the national Constitution and the Basic Law — the constitutional documents of the Hong Kong and Macao SARs.
Implementation of the Bay Area development must stay committed to the basis of “one country”, and leverage well the benefits of “two systems”, Han said.
Promoting high-quality development means to fully utilize the integrated advantages of Guangdong and the two SARs in order to develop the region into a world-class city cluster with international competitiveness, and to facilitate the country’s overall and long-term development, including the Belt and Road Initiative, Han said.
The central government will support Hong Kong’s effort to develop into an international innovation and technology center, and support Macao’s development as a center of traditional Chinese medical science and technology, Han said. It also will grow the Bay Area into an innovation center.
Han stressed the importance of innovation, allaround coordination, environmental protection, openness and cooperation for mutual benefits and people’s better livelihood in the development of Bay Area.
Han said the national development strategy serves as a key platform for Hong Kong and Macao’s integration into national development. It also will facilitate new opportunities for their residents, especially youth, and maintain long-term prosperity and stability there. It will inject stronger vitality to the Pearl River Delta and drive the development of neighboring cities, Han added.
This was the first time that the chief executives of the two SARs — Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Fernando Chui Sai-on — were included in the country’s top decision-making units.
Welcoming the arrangement, Lam said development of the Bay Area relies on institutional innovation and policy breakthroughs. She said it is the kind of innovation needed, and it allows them to directly participate in top-level decision-making for the region and the comprehensive coordination of the central government.
“The Hong Kong SAR government will give full play to that presence as well as Hong Kong’s advantages to better integrate the city into the national development,” Lam said.
Chui stressed that the Bay Area plan means unprecedented development opportunities. The Macao SAR government will fully cooperate with the country’s arrangement and participate in the development drive with its unique advantages, Chui said.
The meeting was attended by Li Xi, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China; He Lifeng, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission; and Zhang Xiaoming, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office.
The Hong Kong SAR government will ... better integrate the city into the national development.” Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
GUANGZHOU — For Li Zhiping, a bus driver commuting between Guangdong province and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Humen Bridge is his most frequent route. But not for long. The Hong Kong-ZhuhaiMacao Bridge, which is about to open, will cut travel time between the areas from three hours to 30 minutes.
“I will definitely take this way once it opens. It will be faster and no traffic jams, making things convenient for everyone,” Li said.
The major tunnel project for the bridge was completed in February, and preparations were underway for the official opening.
Making connections
The 55-kilometer bridge, situated in the Lingding Channel of the Pearl River estuary, is an example of infrastructure connectivity in the development of the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area.
In July 2017, President Xi Jinping attended the signing ceremony for the framework agreement on the development of the Bay Area, which covers Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, as well as nine cities in Guangdong.
With the support of the central government, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao will improve collaboration mechanisms and facilitate win-win cooperation to build a worldclass bay area and city cluster.
The Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-ShenzhenHong Kong Express Rail Link, which connects Hong Kong with the high-speed rail network of the Chinese mainland, is also expected to begin operations in the third quarter of this year.
Policies for improved transport facilities, as well as expedited employment, education and medical services for people from Hong Kong and Macao on the mainland are also in the works.
“With promising career prospects, good income and a more friendly working and living environment, I feel like staying here even longer,” said Hong Kong resident Kevin Lee, who started working in Shenzhen in 2015.
The National Development and Reform Commission is working on a plan to make the bay area an international science and technology innovation center, which will lay out a top-level design for innovation and cooperation in science and technology in the region.
In May, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance encouraged colleges and research institutes in Hong Kong and Macao to join in science and technology initiatives financed by the central government.
Hub for startups
The decision to establish the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park was published in 2017, and a business hub for startups was unveiled in the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong in July.
So far, six Hong Kong colleges have set up 72 research institutes in Shenzhen to put discoveries into practical use.
“With an inclusive atmosphere, supportive policies, complete supporting facilities and the massive mainland market, the Bay Area has an excellent and innovative business environment,” said Felix Lio, vice-secretary general of Hong Kong United Youth Association and also a Hong Kong entrepreneur doing business in Shenzhen.
Taking action
Over the past year, the NDRC and authorities of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have joined hands to carry out the framework agreement on the Bay Area development.
Economic and trade cooperation and investment among the three areas experienced a strong year in 2017.
Last year, 82.8 percent of investment from outside the mainland in Guangdong came from Hong Kong and Macao; and 57.5 percent of Guangdong’s investment went to Hong Kong and Macao.
More than 12,000 companies from Hong Kong and Macao entered pilot free trade zones in Guangdong.
“Based on the framework agreement, all parties — from government, business, education and research circles to the general public — are joining forces to turn words into actions to develop the Bay Area,” said Wang Fuqiang, an official at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a government think tank.