Tokyo Bay area a lesson in development

China could learn from the experience of Tokyo Bay area how to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Great Bay Area, which this year's Government Work Report lists as a central government mission.

Bay areas are important growth points and leaders in technological innovation across the world. World Bank data show about 60 percent of the global economy is concentrated in the river delta regions, and the trend of people moving from inland areas of a country to its coasts has intensified.

The metropolitan zone in the Tokyo Bay area comprises Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, covering an area of 13,562 square kilometers. Although the Tokyo Bay's metropolitan area adds up to only 3.5 percent of the total land of Japan, it is home to one-third of the country's population and generates one-third of national GDP.