Cranes operate at a residential construction site in the Gongbei district of Zhuhai
The Hengqin pilot free trade zone, an area of 28 square kilometers, is bringing new prospects not only to Macau but also to the adjacent city of Zhuhai. With the area’s advantages waiting to come into full play, Zhuhai is aiming to “go global” with the help of regional cooperation, said its mayor, Jiang Ling.
Mr Jiang, who became mayor of Zhuhai this year, was cited by the China News Service as stating that Hengqin will continue to explore institutional innovation in the years to come so as to play its special role in the region.
“With the help of the Hengqin Free Trade Area (FTA), Zhuhai is to go global in its collaboration with Macau, connecting to the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road,” he stated, adding, “Guangdong-Macau cooperation and institutional innovation are the two backbones for the development of the Hengqin FTA.”
Liang pointed out that Macau and Hengqin are mutually benefiting from the cooperation in various areas, such as trade and economic cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries, the tourism and leisure industry, as well as their development of the pharmaceutical industry.
“And with the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the three areas will make up an international metropolitan region. It also means that Zhuhai is the only city directly linked to Hong Kong and Macau by land. In this international metropolitan region, Hengqin’s comprehensive advantages will come into full play,” he stressed.
To fulfill its expectations, the Hengqin FTA has found that it is vital to push for institutional innovation.
“A free trade area isn’t a park where people only enjoy preferential policies and introduce foreign investment. An international, market-oriented and legal business environment should be realized, and institutional innovation be carried out,” said Jiang.
“A successful FTA shouldn’t depend on all kinds of preferential policies. In fact, some preferential policies are just transitional. What makes enterprises stay is the good institutional environment in the FTA,” he added.
Accordingly, tedious examinations and approval formalities are bypassed when enterprises enter the FTA; their intellectual property rights, investment and trade also need to be protected.
“We now need to carry out further institutional innovation in accordance with the law. It won’t be easy in the future. Therefore, institutional innovation will be a key step for Hengqin,” concluded the mayor. BY
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