Cross-boundary cooperation brings strong synergy

Premier Li Keqiang delivered the annual Government Work Report at the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress on Monday. In recent years Hong Kong people have paid more and more attention to this report as the central government increasingly touched on issues related to the city, especially its role in national development. For instance, the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area project became one of the most talked-about issues in town last year after it was mentioned in the 2017 report. So what key messages does this year’s work report have for Hong Kong?

The premier pledged that the central government will continue to implement the “one country, two systems” principle in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions “both in letter and in spirit”. Some were surprised that the issue of “Hong Kong independence” advocacy was not mentioned in the report this year. But the issue has not been overlooked. In reviewing the central government’s work over the past five years, Li said “one country, two systems” has been consistently enriched and developed while the authority of the Constitution and Basic Law has been further enhanced.

This implies the previous work of antiindependence has been effective in keeping “one country, two systems” on the right track. The Basic Law is “enhanced” because the SAR government and central government dealt with political issues firmly and decisively.

Twenty years after its return to China and becoming an SAR under the “one country, two systems” policy, it is time for the Hong Kong SAR to move on to the next stage; from the period of trying to have a full grasp of what “one country, two systems” really is to one that focuses on full and accurate implementation of the policy. This is another key message for Hong Kong in Li’s report this year. He said: “We have every confidence that Hong Kong and Macao will develop and thrive together with the mainland.” The premier pledged the central government’s strong support for Hong Kong in its lawful governance, achieving economic growth and improving living standards as well as in progressively advancing democracy and promoting social harmony.

In a more concrete move, the central government is going to unveil and implement a development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which is expected to be launched soon, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the Chinese mainland and two SARs in all areas. The nature of such mutually beneficial cooperation can be best described by the word “synergy”. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor suggested, in an article recently carried by Bauhinia Magazine, that the synergy between Hong Kong and the mainland means one plus one is greater than two. Last year, we heard of cooperation projects aimed at achieving synergy, including the development of the Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop. Indeed, we need more cooperation projects to gain more synergy in different areas.

The One Country Two Systems Research Institute conducted a study on the potential of the Chung Ying Street developing into a Greater Bay Area Quality Shopping, Tourism and Culture Area. My colleagues suggested Chung Ying Street at present is unable to realize its commercial value because of its small economic scale, the low attractiveness of products sold there, declining commercial reputation and outdated facilities. Making full use of commercial advantages of crossboundary trade between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, by establishing a high-quality shopping, tourism and culture area, is in line with the long-term development objective and the heritage conservation goal of Chung Ying Street, and is also beneficial to its residents, especially in the new era of building the bay area.

“Leverage Hong Kong’s advantages to meet the country’s needs” has been a catchphrase over recent years when we discussed the city’s further development. However, we can also think about how to leverage the country’s advantages to meet Hong Kong’s needs. Maybe we can combine the two notions into “leverage our advantages to meet our needs”. The Chung Ying Street Quality Shopping, Tourism and Culture Area, proposed by my colleagues, does not only benefit the regional economy and development, but also aims to provide a model for development of shopping, tourism and cultural areas in the bay area. This will encourage more frequent exchanges and communication among residents across the region. Our vision is that we need more innovative models in future cooperation.