Greater Bay Area to drive economic development, say experts

The HK-Zhuhai-Macau bridge is nearing completion

Industrial experts and officials believe that the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area” will drive economic development in southern China.

According to the annual government work report in 2017, China will draw up a plan for the development of a city cluster in the Greater Bay Area, give full play to the distinctive strengths of Hong Kong and Macau, and elevate their positions and roles in the country’s economic development and opening up. 

Recently addressed in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), the idea of building a Greater Bay Area is not new. It is an updated version of previous regional development initiatives, such as the Pearl River Delta and the Pan-Pearl River Delta. 

The “delta initiative” focuses on driving mainland development, while the “bay area initiative” stresses external links and grabbing a commanding position in the global industry chain, said Sun Bushu, vice head of a city study institute in southern China. 

“The Greater Bay Area covers less than one percent of the country’s land area and its population accounts for less than five percent of the total. However, it [has] created 13 percent of the nation’s GDP in 2015,” said Wu Sikang, an official with the Shenzhen municipal government.

The Greater Bay Area will include Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in south China’s Guangdong Province, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Foshan, Zhaoqing and Jiangmen.

The “bay area initiative” is based on natural geographical conditions and has taken a leading role in economic reform. It features an open economic structure, highly effective resource allocation and advanced international communication network. 

The world’s top “bay area initiatives,” such as Bay Area near San Francisco, feature developed service industries, major global financial centers and transportation junctions, said Guo Wanda, executive vice president with the China Development Institute. MDT/Xinhua