CE welcomes bay area plan

February 18, 2019

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today welcomed the Central Government's promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

 

She expressed gratitude to the Central Government for placing importance on the views of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in the course of formulating the development plan.

 

The plan sets out the directions guiding the development of the bay area.

 

The bay area covers nine cities in Guangdong Province, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing, as well as the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao.

 

The plan identifies Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and Shenzhen as core cities, as well as core engines for driving regional development.

 

The four cities will leverage their comparative advantages and strengthen the radiating effect in leading the development of nearby regions.

 

The plan supports Hong Kong in consolidating and enhancing its status as international financial, transportation and trade centres as well as an international aviation hub, and strengthening its status as a global offshore renminbi business hub and its role as an international asset management centre and a risk management centre.

 

It also supports the city in promoting the development of high-end and high value-added financial, commercial and trading, logistics and professional services, making great efforts to develop innovation and technology industries, nurturing emerging industries, and establishing Hong Kong as the centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region.

 

These are all conducive to developing Hong Kong into an international metropolis with enhanced competitiveness.

 

The bay area development is a national strategy personally devised, planned and driven by President Xi Jinping, the HKSAR Government said, adding it is a key development strategy in the country's reform and opening up in the new era.

 

As pointed out in the plan, the bay area development is not only a new attempt to break new ground in the country's pursuit of opening up on all fronts in a new era, but a further step in taking forward the implementation of “one country, two systems”.

 

The plan clearly provides that through further deepening co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, the objectives of the bay area development are to promote co-ordinated economic development in the bay area, leverage the complementary advantages of the three places, and develop an international first-class bay area for living, working and travelling.

 

The HKSAR Government said it will fully seize opportunities brought about by the development of the bay area, integrate the needs of the country with the strengths of Hong Kong and fully leverage the market-driven mechanism, enabling the city to enjoy brighter development prospects amid its integration into the overall development of the country.

 

The bay area development can help identify new areas of growth for Hong Kong and foster the diversified development of its economy and industries, the HKSAR Government said, adding the development will also expand the space for living and development of Hong Kong residents.

 

The HKSAR Government will work with the relevant central ministries, the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Macao SAR Government to jointly take forward the bay area development in accordance with the guiding directions set out in the plan.

  

The National Development & Reform Commission will introduce the contents of the development plan in a symposium to be held on February 21 in Hong Kong.

 

Officials from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau will attend the symposium.

 

Click here for the development plan.

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