THEGuangdong-HongKong-MacaoGreaterBayAreaconsistsoftheSpecialAdministrativeRegions(SAR)ofHongKongandMacaoandninecitiesinneighboringGuangdongProvince–Guangzhou,Shenzhen,Zhuhai,Foshan,Zhongshan,Dongguan,Zhaoqing,Jiangmen,andHuizhou,whichsitinthePearlRiverDelta.
In1980,ShenzhenwasjustafishinghamletwhenitwasdesignatedChina’sfirstspecialeconomiczone.IthassinceattractedaspateofinvestmentfromadjacentHongKongandforeigncountries,andnowstandsasoneoftheworld’smostvibrantmetropolises.Infact,thewholePearlRiverDeltahasthrivedthrougheconomiccooperationwithHongKongandMacaosincethe1990s.Primarilyintheformofprocessingtradeforagoodpartofthepastdecades,thiscooperationisnowmovingtoahigherlevelinvolvingmorebrainpowerratherthanmanuallabor.
Inthiscontext,theGuangdong-HongKong-MacaoGreaterBayAreaisstrivingtobecomeacityclusterwiththeworld’sbesteconomicandlivingenvironmentthatcanrivalthebayareasinNewYork,SanFrancisco,andTokyo.Givenitsstrategicsignificancetonationaldevelopment,itwasmentionedinboththereporttothe19thNationalCongressoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)andcentralgovernmentworkreportsin2016and2017.LastyeartheNationalDevelopmentandReformCommissionsignedanagreementwiththeregionalgovernmentsofGuangdong,HongKong,andMacao,whichoutlinesthepurpose,goals,principles,andpriorityareasofcooperationbetweenthesethreeareas.
Since2012,Chinahaspromotedthevisionofinnovative,coordinated,green,andopendevelopment,whichhasusheredtheChineseeconomyintoanewphase.ItisundertheguidanceofthisnewvisionthatChinahasplannedtheGuangdong-HongKongMacaoGreaterBayAreainresponsetoglobalizationandnewdevelopmenttrendsinthe21stcentury,andaspartofitseffortstodeepenreform,expandopening-up,andimplementtheprincipleof“onecountry,twosystems.”
Sci&TechInnovation
TheinnovativecapacityoftheGuangdong-HongKong-MacaoGreaterBayAreahassurgedstronglyinrecentyears.Inthe2017regionalinnovationcapacityreportbytheChineseAcademyofSciences,GuangdongProvince,forthefirsttime,tookthepolepositionthankstorobustinnovationanden-trepreneurshipintheregion,largelyaccreditedtogenerousinvestmentinresearchanddevelopment.Theprovince’sR&Dinputintensitystoodat2.85percentin2016,onparwiththatofdevelopedcountries.
InneighboringHongKong,theresourcesofinnovationareplentiful.Forinstance,itishometothreeoftheworld’stop100universities.TheGlobalInnovationIndex2017reportofWorldIntellectualPropertyOrganization(WIPO)ranksShenzhen-HongKongtheNo.2leadinginnovationclusterworldwide.Withcomplimentaryresources,Guangdong,HongKong,andMacaohavethepotentialtocoordinatetheireffortsforcommondevelopment.
InnovationisthefountainoflifeforthisGreaterBayArea,whichaimstobecomeaninternationalhubofsci&techinnovation.ThePearlRiverDeltaNationalIndependentInnovationArea,foundedin2015,willbethemainengineforlocalinnovation,andHongKongwilllenditsstrengthindevelopmentandmanagementofhi-techparksandbusinessincubation.TheGreaterBayAreawillalsotapintoandimportglobalresourcesandinnovation,andjoinhandswithlaboratoriesandresearchinstitutestobuildaworld-classinnovationbaseforhi-techindustries.Thefocusisonfrontieranddisruptivetechnologies–itintendstoracetotheforefrontinthefieldsofquantumtechnology,new-generationinformationtechnology,third-generationsemiconductors,newdisplaytechnology,smartmanufacturing,andprecisionmedicine.
Akeybackstopfortheregion’sinnovationambitionisthe200-kmGuangzhou-Shenzhen-HongKongSci&TechInnovationCorridor,whichstartsattheborderbetweenGuangzhouandFoshan,andtransversesGuangzhou,Dongguan,andShenzhenallthewaytoVictoriaHarborinHongKong.Alongtherouteareseveraltransportarteries,includingtheGuangzhou-ShenzhenExpressway,Guangzhou-ShenzhenRiversideExpressway,PearlRiverDeltaRingExpressway,andKowloon-CantonRailway.DesignedasakeydriverforChina’sinnovativedevelopmentandapioneerinreformingChina’ssci&techsystem,thiscorridorwillextendonboththeeasternandwesternbanksofthePearlRiver,andexpandintoasprawlinginnovationzoneintheGreaterBayAreathatcanrivalglobalinnovationleaderssuchasSiliconValleyandtheTokyo-Yokohama-Tsukubacluster.
CoordinationMechanism
TheGreaterBayAreaneedsastate-levelcoordinationmechanismtoboostcoordinateddevelopmentintheregion.Acoordinatingorganshouldbeformed,headedbystateleadersinchargeofHongKongandMacaoaffairs,andstaffedbyofficialsfrombothrelevantcentralgovernmentdepartmentsandregionalgovernmentsofGuangdong,HongKong,andMacao.OnthebasisofexistingjointmeetingsforGuangdong-HongKongandGuangdong-Macaocooperation,ajointmeetingmechanismoftheGreaterBayAreashouldbeestablishedandanofficeopenedtoexecutethestate’splanningfortheareaunderthe“onecountry,twosystems”framework.Itisexpectedtobealong-termworkingmechanismwithstrongtop-leveldesigncapacityandenforcementpower.
CoordinationisalsocriticaltosolvingintricateproblemsinthedevelopmentoftheGreaterBayArea,whichinvolves“twosystems”in“onecountry,”threeseparatecustomsterritories,andfourmajorcities.Foraregionofsuchsizeanddiversity,coordinationisachallengeonissuessuchasfreeflowofgoodsandfactorsofproduction,inter-citytransportplanning,cultivationofdifferentindustriesoflocalstrength,distributionofharborsandairports,intensiveuseoflandresources,jointenvironmentalgovernance,andprovisionofequal-qualitypublicservices.Closeandeffectivecoordinationisalsorequiredtorealizeconvenientcustomclearance,transportinfrastructureconnectivity,synchronizationofindustries,fulluseoflands,anddissimilarurbandevelopment.
EnvironmentalGovernance
AcentralgoaloftheGuangdong-HongKongMacaoGreaterBayAreaistobuildanexcellentlivingandworkingenvironmentwithadevelopededucationsector,stableemployment,start-upservicesystems,andathrivingculture.Tomakeitselfagreen,livableareaattractivetobothjobseekersandtourists,thiscityclustermusttakethepathofgreendevelopment,andhasadvantagesindoingsogivenitsgeographicalandnaturalconditions–benignclimate,longcoastlines,richforestresources,andagoodeco-environment.
However,toachievethegoalofabeautifulenvironment,theareahastoaddressbothenvironmentalproblemsresultingfrombreakneckgrowthoverthepast40yearsandthosepoppingupincurrentdevelopment.Todoso,itmustincreaseawarenessofenvironmentalprotection,stayabovetheenvironmentalredline,andsteadilyimprovethehealthofthelocaleco-system.Agoodeco-environmentisthepreconditionfortheconstructionoftheGuangdong-HongKong-MacaoGreaterBayArea,asprovidinghighqualitypublicgoodsconcerningtheenvironmentiscriticalfortheregiontogainafootinginglobalcompetition.
ThecooperationongreendevelopmentwillbeintensifiedacrosstheGreaterBayArea.Cross-regionnaturereservesandeco-passageswillbebuilttoformgreenshieldsfortheregion,andcirculareconomyandlow-carbondevelopmentwillbepromotedtogiveitanewcompetitiveedgeineconomicstructure,performance,andefficiency.Inadditiontoeconomicbenefits,theseeffortswillbringtheregionblueskies,clearwater,andfreshair,significantlyboostinglocalresidents’happinessindex.TheGuangdongHongKong-MacaoGreaterBayAreaCityTourismUnionisfoundedinZhuhai,GuangdongProvince,onDecember12,2017.AnOpenBayArea
ThenewroundofChina’sopening-upexpandsthespaceoftheGreaterBayArea’sstrategicdevelopmentandencouragesmoreparticipationinglobalcompetition.Tobuildonitscomprehensivecompetitiveness,theregionwillfurtherclarifythefunctionsofindividualcitiesintheclustertonudgethemintoorderlycompetitionanddissimilar,complimentarydevelopment.
TheGreaterBayAreaalsostandsoutintheBeltandRoadInitiative,whichisaimedtobecomeanopen,inclusiveplatformofcooperation.ConstructionoftheGuangdong-HongKong-Macaoclusterisakeystepofimplementingthisinitiative,andwillallowChinatobemoreinvolvedininternationalcompetitionandtheconstructionofinternationalcooperationplatforms.Inreturn,theclusterwillrisetoamoreprominentpositioninthecountry’sopening-up,andenhanceitsreputationandinfluenceincountriesalongtheBeltandRoad.
The“onecountry,twosystems”principleandtheseparatecustomsterritoriesintheGreaterBayAreagivetheregionmoreinstitutionalflexibilityinaligningitselfwithinternationalpracticesandjoiningtheBeltandRoadInitiative.Thepoliciesofthefreeport,specialadministrationregion,specialeconomiczone,andpilotfreetradezoneallfacilitatebroadercooperationontradeandindustries.UndertheBeltandRoadInitiative,HongKong’sroleasthesuperliaisonwillbeenhanced,itsadvantageincompliancewithinternationalpracticeswillbegivenmoreplay,anditseconomictieswiththemainlandwillgrowstronger.Guangdong,HongKong,andMacaothereforeshouldnotonlystepupcooperationandopening-upbetweenthemselves,butalsoteamuptoexploretheinternationalmarket.
ThekeytotheconstructionoftheGreaterBayAreaisfosteringagoodlivingenvironmentandshareddevelopmentthatentailsprovidingarea-widepublicgoods,improvingboththe“hard”and“soft”conditionsofdevelopment,andrealizingcommonprosperity.Withthegoalofbuildinganinternationalshippingandlogisticshub,theareawillboostconnectivityofitsharbor,high-speedrailway,airportandsubwaynetworks,andattractgoods,capital,andtalentsfromallovertheworld.
DR.YANGHAISHENisanassistantresearcherwiththesectionofHongKong,Macao,Taiwanandinternationalaffairsresearch,GuangdongAcademyofSocialSciences.