Greater Bay Area seen as strategic step

Vice-Premier Han Zheng calls for promotion of regional cooperation

Vice-Premier Han Zheng has called for earnest efforts to advance the building of the major cooperation platform for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to push for new and greater progress in promoting regional cooperation.

Han made the remarks at a meeting of the Leading Group for Development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, on Thursday. The meeting was attended by relevant senior officials including Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Ho Iat-seng, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

He stressed that developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a major strategic step made by the central government, a major innovative move to implement the "one country, two systems" and to further deepen reform and expand opening-up, and it helps support the two special administrative regions better integrating into overall national development.

Han recognized the active efforts made by Guangdong province and the two SARs as well as the achievements they have made in recent years, and urged them to take a target-oriented approach, and identify and solve the problems in the process of advancing regional cooperation.

Concrete efforts should be made to promote the development of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, a district of Zhuhai city in Guangdong province neighboring Macao, to help the SAR to develop a moderately diversified economy, he said.

Han called for efforts on developing new industries in the advantageous fields and build a new integrated system of higher-level opening-up between Hengqin and Macao.

In terms of cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Han spoke of the development of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone.

He said relevant supportive policies should be leveraged to enhance intensive cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Efforts should be made to advance institutional reform and innovation, advance the innovative development of a modern service industry, step up institutional reforms in developing science and technology and create a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment, Han said.

He also called for advancing high-level opening-up and intensifying service trade liberalization in the Greater Bay Area.

Also on Thursday, Han met with Lam and Ho in Guangzhou. He fully recognized the recent work of the governments of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and said they should continue to give priority to epidemic prevention and control as part of their efforts to recover the economy and improve people's livelihoods.