The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is the starting point to promote deepened integration of the Bay Area. To exert the competitive advantages amongst the cities of the Greater Bay Area for differentiated development, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao must collaborate and brainstorm new ideas to explore effective cooperation opportunities between the cities and the industries.
(From left) Paul Chan, Ye Zhenqin, Ung Hoi-ian
Paul Chan: Synergizing for a world-class bay area
Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, pointed out that with the rise of unilateralizm and protectionizm, relationships in international cooperation are ever changing. Under such a new era and such new circumstances, the development of the Greater Bay Area is indisputably a timely and important policy.
Chan reckons that the Greater Bay Area represents “one country, two systems”, three currencies and three tariff areas, which are limitations and advantages at the same time. As Hong Kong has striven to nurture innovation and technology industries in recent years, the development of the Greater Bay Area can put Hong Kong’s established strengths into full play, leverage on the competitive edge of the technology industries of its brother cities in the region, and take part in China’s key scientific research projects. The Greater Bay Area also acts as a broad platform for creative and cultural industries as well as for young entrepreneurs. He stressed that by further deepening the cooperation amongst Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and by promoting synergized development for the economy, the Greater Bay Area will become a world-class region that is suitable for living, working and traveling.
Ye Zhenqin: Entire province involved in developing Greater Bay Area with Hong Kong and Macao
Guangdong and Hong Kong are intimately connected in their developments. The strengths of Hong Kong in international finance, shipping, trade, etc. not only continuously support the socio-economic development of Guangdong, but also serve as a benchmark for the reform and opening-up of the province in the scopes of market management, technological research & development, business networks and city management, etc. According to Ye Zhenqin, Standing Committee Member of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have been closely cooperating, laying down a solid foundation for the excellent commencement of the Greater Bay Area’s development.
The Greater Bay Area has now entered a new stage that involves comprehensive and accelerated implementation. Both Hong Kong and Macao play a special position in China’s overall development with their unique competitive edge. With Guangdong as an economically strong province in China, the construction of the Greater Bay Area will further organically integrate the strengths of Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong. Guangdong has already launched implementation notes and a three-year action plan to thoroughly put forward the Plan. It will join hands with Hong Kong and Macao to drive the construction of the Greater Bay Area and to craft a dynamic, world-class city cluster.
Ung Hoi-ian: Strengthening cooperation with brother cities in the region
Under the plan for the construction of the Greater Bay Area, Macao will be positioned as a world-class tourism and recreation center, as well as a service and cooperation platform for trading between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Ung Hoi-ian, Deputy Director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, said that as one of the central cities in the construction and development of the Greater Bay Area, Macao can make good use of its competitiveness in its unique system, geography, economy and social culture. The city can also ride on its long history of integrating diversified cultures to speed up the development of cultural industries and cultural tourism.
Macao is now actively taking part in the construction of the Greater Bay Area. Examples include building a Guangdong-Macao Co-operation Industrial Park in Hengqin, as well as exploring the feasibility of building a technological development center and a cultural education base in Jiangmen, and an industrial park in Nansha for constructing a Guangdong-Macao Co-operation Industrial Park with Portuguese-speaking countries. The cooperation amongst brother cities in the region will be strengthened in trading, tourism, transportation, infrastructure and cultural exchange, etc.
Wang Zhenmin(left), Cao Dahua(right)
Wang Zhenmin: Demonstration of the philosophy of mutual gains
Wang Zhenmin, Director of the Center for Hong Kong and Macao Studies of Tsinghua University, reckons that Hong Kong and Macao are not only acting as super connectors. They should also become a home for foreigners alongside the nine cities in Guangdong province so that expatriates can settle here with their families and build their businesses for generations to come. By working together, the strengths of the 9+2 cities can be put to the best use.
“To establish oneself, one must also enable others to establish themselves.” Wang quoted this Confucian saying to explain that to actualize an aspiration, one must help his/her peers to actualize their aspirations. This is the philosophy of achieving mutual gains. The concept of the Greater Bay Area should echo with this principle for joint development and prosperity. Geographically, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has existed since ancient times, but actual integration for synergized development is yet to take place. With the volatility in the international economies, the 9+2 cities of the Greater Bay Area must collaborate to uncover potentials and make their overall strengths work for further development.
According to the Plan, Hong Kong and Macao are the core cities as well as transportation and logistics hubs. The participation of Hong Kong and Macao is highly important. For example, they could act as a benchmark in going global, adopting the rule of law and marketization. They can also promote the construction of an international circle of friends with the Greater Bay Area. The strengths of the universities and research and development organizations in Hong Kong and Macao can also be leveraged in developing innovative technologies.
Comparing with other famous bay areas of the world, the Greater Bay Area is characterized by “one country, two systems, three ecologies”. This implies that the construction of the Greater Bay Area will undoubtedly face difficulties, and innovation in aspirations and systems must be continuously driven; all the problems must be solved according to the rule of law. He added that over the course of implementing the Plan, the governments of the three locations must sign individual agreements for various cooperation items. Laws or amendments to laws must then be processed according to their own legislation procedures. It should be noted that both Hong Kong and Macao are vested with the legislative power according to the Basic Law, but Guangdong does not possess legislative power. He suggested that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress should grant similar legislative power to Guangdong province so that the governments of the three locations can conveniently implement the agreements of cooperation items.
Cao Dahua: Stronger communication for multifaceted development
Noting the developmental path of the world’s three largest bay areas, Cao Dahua, Executive Deputy Director-General of the Office of the Leading Group on Construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, saw the commonalities in the continuous promotion of technological, industrial and business model innovations. He added that because of the differences in systems and regulations, there is still a lack in the smooth flow of people, goods, capitals and information, etc. within the Greater Bay Area. The connection and integration of the rules and regulations, systems and mechanisms of the three locations should be promoted.
Cao believes that the construction of the Greater Bay Area should be promoted in eight directions. These include: facilitate cooperation in technological innovation and construction of the Guangdong-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Technology and Innovation Corridor, piloted with the innovation cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong; promote dovetailing of the rules under “two systems” to eliminate the high costs arising from production flow hiccups; promote interconnectivity of infrastructure construction, including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link and new ports, etc. to drive the integration of the Greater Bay Area; promote cooperation amongst industries; create premium ecology together; promote opening-up of high standards together; co-develop an important platform for international collaboration; and promote cooperation in people’s livelihood.
He added that the service industries of Hong Kong and Macao are already highly developed, while PRD cities have basically adopted the strategic orientation towards emerging industries. The two directions combine to establish a complete, coordinated system of modern industries for the Greater Bay Area, which in turn facilitate differentiated development with mutually complementing strengths. Capturing the important opportunities from the construction of the Greater Bay Area and acting as the fulcrum of the “Belt and Road” initiative, Hong Kong and other cities in the region will join hands to go international and deepen the exchange and cooperation with B&R countries.
Forum on Tapping Greater Bay Area Opportunities
(From left) Eva Lou, Liu Tao, Kenneth Fok, Victor Fung, Jonathan Choi, Wang Zhenmin, Peter Kung, Hou Feng and Doranda Doo.
The forum featured a dialogue session, where business elites, experts and scholars from different sectors of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao were brought together for in-depth discussions on the Outline Development Plan for the Greater Bay Area.
Victor Fung: Hong Kong as an active global supply chain coordinator
Victor Fung, Group Chairman of Fung Group, believes that after 40 years of reform and opening-up, the Pearl River Delta concept has become one of the reference development models for the country and the rest of the world and many multinational companies are familiar with it. The current development of the Greater Bay Area is precisely the next phase of the Pearl River Delta’s innovation. He pointed out that global supply chains have moved towards digitization and the Greater Bay Area is most well-placed to drive the digital new economy. Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan are set to become the starting points of global digital supply chains, which will generate new opportunities for cooperation with Hong Kong, integrating with the functions of the entire Greater Bay Area and extending the benefits to the world.
In view of Hong Kong’s focus on developing innovation and technology (I&T) industries in recent years, Fung noted that Hong Kong’s scientific research has reached world-class standards, but commercialization of research results is not as good as it should be. The key is the lack of a local market, and the Greater Bay Area provides Hong Kong with a huge market. Hong Kong’s research industry is set to have better development if they work well together. For Hong Kong’s young people who are interested in engaging in I&T, cross-border development can provide them with opportunity for upward mobility.
Cao Dahua: Greater Bay Area can help overcome development bottlenecks
Guangdong is an important engine for the country’s economic development. However, Cao Dahua, Executive Deputy Director-General of the Office of the Leading Group on Construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, pointed out that Guangdong’s development is unbalanced, uncoordinated, and characterized by wide regional development gaps. He hopes that high-quality development can be achieved through the development of the Greater Bay Area. For example, Hong Kong and Macao can combine their strengths in scientific research with Guangdong’s complete industrial systems.
At present, the flow of people, materials, capital and information in the Greater Bay Area is hindered by institutional differences. Cao believes that the barriers should be gradually broken down to facilitate interconnection, linkage and integration of the rules, systems and mechanisms of the three places. He said that the service industries of Hong Kong and Macao are well-developed while the Pearl River Delta cities have preliminarily developed an industrial structure driven by strategic emerging industries. In this regard, coordinated development and complementarity of strengths will help them combine to create a complete industrial system for the Greater Bay Area.
Peter Kung: Mainland tax cuts will boost engagement in Greater Bay Area development
Many people think that tax costs in the Mainland are higher than those in Hong Kong and Macao. Peter Kung, Senior Advisor of KPMG, said that China’s recently introduced tax cuts of RMB2 trillion cover various areas such as corporate income tax, profits tax and personal income tax, and will benefit many segments of the population and reduce the tax costs for operations in the Greater Bay Area cities. For young entrepreneurs, start-ups earning less than RMB100,000 per month are exempt from VAT, which greatly reduces the burden on them. To encourage talents, high-end talents from Hong Kong and Macao working in the nine cities of the Greater Bay Area are eligible for government subsidies and they only need to pay taxes in the place of origin.
Kung pointed out that the professional service industries in the entire Greater Bay Area have advantages over the Mainland and other Asian cities. Currently, many cities such as Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are striving for more “Belt and Road Initiative” (B&R) projects. Although they can proceed in parallel with each other, they can make their advantages stronger if they work together. He looks forward to the Greater Bay Area cities working hand in hand to make the “economic pie” bigger and achieve mutual benefits.
Kenneth Fok: Business community can help young people integrate into Greater Bay Area development
The development of the Greater Bay Area presents a rare opportunity for young people, but Kenneth Fok, Vice President of Fok Ying Tung Group, believes that young people are, after all, not as able to keep abreast of the country’s development as the business community, so it is first and foremost important to clearly explain to them and dispel their doubts. He added that while most young people have a positive attitude towards the Greater Bay Area, they still lack the motivation to go there for employment, entrepreneurship and residence. The reason is precisely that they do not understand the situation.
Fok stressed that it is important not to let the development of the Greater Bay Area become merely a slogan-based propaganda, but rather to give young people a sense of participation and gain. He encouraged the business community to pave the way to share with our young people the opportunities offered by the country to Hong Kong. A case in point is that young people need a network of contacts and market awareness to start a business. Hence, he is planning to organize more networking groups with entrepreneurship as the theme. He also stressed that Hong Kong’s young people have much to offer in the Greater Bay Area’s development as long as they change their mindsets, share the abundant resources and create a sense of belonging as members of a family.
Hou Feng: Hong Kong has much to offer in water environment governance
Alongside the Greater Bay Area cities’ high-level development, pollution is increasing day by day. Consequently, environmental protection has become an urgent issue. Hou Feng, Chairman and CEO of China Water Environment Group Ltd, said that the Greater Bay Area’s total sewage discharge reached 10 billion cubic metres in 2017 and must be properly managed, otherwise multiple issues such as food safety will arise. Just as President Xi Jinping said, “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”. The issue with water is the combination of green development and the Greater Bay Area’s high-quality development.
Hou stressed that water is a significant resource and sewage treatment should not be seen as simple treatment of black and odorous water, but rather as a way to convert sewage into resources. In his view, Hong Kong has a strong edge in this regard. Besides the need for technology, top-level design and green finance, water environment governance needs significant funding. Hong Kong can leverage its financial strength and combine with water environment and green development.
Liu Tao: Greater Bay Area has increasing demand for legal arbitration and dispute resolution
Liu Tao, Vice President of Guangdong Lawyers Association, shared his views on the prospects for legal arbitration and dispute resolution in the Greater Bay Area. He believes that the Greater Bay Area’s development is complementary to the B&R, with demand for legal services geared towards the world. He expected relevant services to show exponential growth. More importantly, the Greater Bay Area’s development has also prompted upgrade of legal service cooperation from the level of case basis to that of rules and mechanisms. For example, in the future when the rules are aligned and the mechanisms are sound, the demand for legal services will similarly increase significantly.
Liu suggested that the Hong Kong legal profession should be more open to cooperation in legal services in the Greater Bay Area. In the future, they could explore the possibility of letting lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao to apply for a special license to practice in the Mainland after undergoing an assessment, with a view to achieving a true two-way approach. He added that the legal and arbitral institutions in Hong Kong and Macao should employ more Mainland professionals such as lawyers and accountants as arbitrators so that they can become promoters for these institutions, which will help the arbitral institutions in Hong Kong and Macao attract more dispute resolution cases.
Doranda Doo: Greater Bay Area integration helps attract talents
This year marks the third time that the term “artificial intelligence” has been included in the Government Work Report. Doranda Doo, Senior Vice President of iFLYTEK Co Ltd, believes that with the accumulation of big data and the emergence of industry experts, better applications have been created. She expected that this year will see the beginning of large-scale, high-tech applications, especially in artificial intelligence. In her view, the era of artificial intelligence will become an engine for supply-side innovation, providing various support for the future development of the industry.
As an example, Doo said that an intelligent court system can automatically record court proceedings, which will save clerical time. In addition, some robots were ranked among the best in a national medical written test and could be helpful to doctors in the future. She added that the Greater Bay Area plan is precisely an excellent demonstration point for “AI + applications”. At present, the key to I&T development is talents. It includes different aspects such as the core sources, technological breakthroughs, development and applications, which require talents to make progress. The integration of the Greater Bay Area has become a platform for attracting talents.
Eva Lou: MICE industry can produce synergies in Greater Bay Area
Eva Lou, Director and General Manager of Prime Marketing & Promotional Services Co Ltd, said that the Macau SAR Government is committed to promoting the construction of “one centre, two platforms and one base” to achieve moderate diversification of Macao’s economy. She believes that in this process, Macao can play a connector role, especially in linking the strengths of the Mainland with those of Portuguese-speaking countries and ASEAN countries and build an external interaction platform for the Greater Bay Area.
As Macao has the advantage of a long history and culture, Lou believes that it can join hands with the Greater Bay Area for external cultural exchanges and cooperation. She also believes that Macao’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry can build on the past to further strengthen cooperation with the Greater Bay Area’s city cluster and create synergies, including facilitating concurrent holding of both exhibition and summit. As rising land prices in many developed cities in the Greater Bay Area are hampering the development of the MICE industry, she suggested setting up support bases in other cities in the area for pre-MICE preparation; Hengqin and Zhuhai are ideal choices.
