SCIO briefing on the outline development plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

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Read in Chinese

Speakers:
Luo Wen, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission;

Lin Shaochun, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and executive vice governor of Guangdong province;

Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chief secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region;

Mi Jian, director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Service of the Macao Special Administrative Region

Chairperson:
Xi Yanchun, spokesperson for the State Council Information Office

Date:
Feb. 28, 2019

Xi Yanchun:

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference. "The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," recently released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, has received a lot of attention. To offer more information about the plan, today we are delighted to welcome four of the involved officials to explain the plan and answer your questions. They are Mr. Luo Wen, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission; Mr. Lin Shaochun, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and executive vice governor of Guangdong province; Mr. Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chief secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; and Mr. Mi Jian, director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Service of the Macao Special Administrative Region. Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Luo.

Luo Wen:

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, Good afternoon!

Thank you for your attention and support to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Let me take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to our friends from various sectors of society for their interest, understanding and support for this initiative.

Promoting the development of the Greater Bay Area is a major national strategy that General Secretary Xi Jinping has planned for, made decisions about and promoted in person. On July 1, 2017, he witnessed the signing of the Framework Agreement on Deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Cooperation in the Development of the Bay Area between the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and the governments of Guangdong Province, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region, signaling the development of the Greater Bay Area was officially made a national strategy.

General Secretary Xi Jinping subsequently issued a number of important instructions on the development of the Greater Bay Area, clearly setting out the objective of "developing a vibrant and internationally competitive first-class bay area", showing clearly the direction for our future work. Different from other bay areas in the world, the development of the Greater Bay Area faces many new challenges as it will be carried out under the "one country, two systems", involving three customs areas using three different currencies, which is without precedent internationally. Therefore, it is not only an attempt to break new ground in pursuing opening-up on all fronts in the new era, but a further step in advancement of the practice of "one country, two systems". In formulating the outline development plan for the Greater Bay Area, we have always borne in mind the principle of "one country, two systems" and acted strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Laws, aiming to support the integration of the development of Hong Kong and Macao into the development of the country as a whole, fully leverage their unique advantages, promote cooperation to achieve win-win outcomes, give new impetus to their development, and provide strong support for the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy and the building of a new system for an open economy. Based on these considerations, the outline development plan attaches special importance to the following four aspects:

First, taking into full consideration the overall development of the country when defining the strategic positioning of the Greater Bay Area. The [latter] plays an important role in China's reform, opening up, and socialist modernization. We have always kept the overall situation in mind, with a global vision in our study, and put forward five major strategic positions, so as to further enhance the Greater Bay Area's supporting and leading role in China's reform and opening up, and better serve the country's development strategy.

The second involves adhering to the principle of "one country, two systems" to maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao. The outline development plan stresses the importance of implementing the principle of "one country, two systems" and acting in strict adherence to the Constitution and the Basic Laws, with a focus on promoting coordinated and synergistic development of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, expanding the development space for the latter two, and enriching the practice of "one country, two systems".

The third aspect concerns fully leveraging the comparative advantages of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and enhancing the region's international competitiveness. The outline development plan underlines the importance of properly leveraging the benefits of the "two systems" to stimulate institutional vitality and the market, and strengthen the core competitiveness of the Greater Bay Area.

The fourth aspect involves deepening reform to give play to the decisive role of market forces in resource allocation. The outline development plan highlights the critical role of innovation, with a focus on removing all institutional and systemic obstacles hindering cooperation and development of the Greater Bay Area. It strives to expedite early and pilot implementation of certain major reform measures in the Greater Bay Area and employ market-oriented, law-based measures to tackle problems in development.

Generally speaking, the main contents of the plan can be summarized as follows: One focus, one vision, seven priorities and four measures. "One focus" refers to supporting the integration of Hong Kong and Macao into the overall national development; "one vision" involves developing a vibrant and internationally competitive first-class bay area and build a role model of high-quality development; the "seven priorities" define the seven major areas for development, including building a globally influential international innovation and technology hub, and expediting infrastructural connectivity; the "four measures" involve strengthening organizational leadership, pressing ahead with the major tasks, preventing and mitigating risks, and broadening social participation.

In fact, we have been working with Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as relevant departments to advance development of the Greater Bay Area in an orderly way. For example, the infrastructure connectivity of the Greater Bay Area has been enhanced. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has officially opened to traffic, and the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link has also started operation. Construction of an international innovation and technology hub is progressing steadily, with the development of the "Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao" innovation and technology corridor. Progress has been achieved in investment facilitation, trade liberalization and facilitation of the flow of people and goods, and the extent of market integration in the Greater Bay Area has been greatly enhanced. Policies and measures facilitating Hong Kong and Macao residents to live and work on the Chinese mainland have been introduced, and the sense of fulfillment and well-being of residents in the Greater Bay Area has been greatly enhanced.

Next, we will act in accordance with the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, step up communication and coordination, meticulously organize the implementation, and carry out the follow-up analysis and evaluation, so as to fulfill all tasks set in the outline development plan.

We firmly believe that, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, we will advance the development of the Greater Bay Area step by step and move toward the objective of building it into an international first-class bay area with the joint efforts of various areas, all departments and different sectors of society.

Thank you!

Xi Yanchun:

I'll give the floor to Mr. Lin Shaochun.

Lin Shaochun:

Ladies, gentlemen and friends of the media, hello everyone! I'm glad to meet with you here. Thanks for everyone's attention and support for the efforts made by Guangdong province to advance the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Now, I will give a brief introduction of the latest progress of the initiative.

A mechanism of coordination has been established. A steering group of Guangdong province to promote Greater Bay Area construction was established, with provincial Party secretary Li Xi and the provincial governor, Ma Xingrui, assuming the roles of director and executive deputy director. In addition, six special task forces were assembled to coordinate work in key areas. The province also formulated a series of matching policies implementing the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area with systematic approaches.

Scientific and technological innovation and cooperation have been deepening in the Greater Bay Area. Phased work on the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone has been progressing smoothly. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has set up a branch campus in Nansha district of Guangzhou city. In Shenzhen a total of 6 higher education institutions from Hong Kong have set up 72 scientific research facilities. A total of 151 programs were jointly built by Guangdong and Hong Kong to offer financial aid to promote innovation. Policies were issued to offer guidelines for the overseas use of Guangdong provincial financial funds for scientific research.

Significant growth has been seen in infrastructure construction and interconnectivity. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge opened to traffic last October. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link has been put into use and offers a co-location arrangement at West Kowloon Station. The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is under construction. And the entry port of Hengqin in Zhuhai started to provide 24-hour customs clearance services.

The local business environment has been shifting to meet growing needs. Guangdong province opened 153 service industry sectors to Hong Kong and Macao compatriots, accounting for 95.6 percent of the 160 categories classified by the World Trade Organization. The procedures for opening a business now take no more than 5 working days.

Interconnectivity in the finance sector is steadily advancing. China UnionPay's Quick Pass application mode has reached Hong Kong and Macao. WeChat Pay Hong Kong started to provide local users with mobile payment services in the Chinese mainland. And for the first time, Guangdong and Macao jointly set up a 20 billion-yuan (first phase) fund for cooperation and development.

Residents of Hong Kong and Macao now enjoy increasing convenience when working and living in Guangdong through 53 measures issued to facilitate the construction of the Greater Bay Area. Fifty higher education institutions in the province have been enabled to enroll students from Hong Kong and Macao. The number of medical facilities with Hong Kong and Macao investment has now reached 48. The number of accepted applications for residence permits for Hong Kong and Macao residents has reached 90,000.

In the future, Guangdong will deepen its understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping's expositions on the construction of the Greater Bay Area, position the project as the main driving force of reform and opening-up in the province, and fulfill the important duty of the construction of the Greater Bay Area. Guangdong expects to make its due contribution to integrate the development of Hong Kong and Macao into the overall development of the country and to facilitate the quality economic growth of the country.

Thank you all!

Xi Yanchun:

Now, let's invite Mr. Matthew Cheung Kin-chung to give us an introduction.

Matthew Cheung Kin-chung:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) is a national strategy that was planned, arranged and promoted by President Xi Jinping in person. It is not only an attempt to break ground by pursuing opening up on all fronts in the new era, but also a further step in pushing forward the practice of "one country, two systems." By further deepening cooperation, it aims to promote coordinated economic development in the region, to make use of the complementary advantages of the three places, and to further enhance the Greater Bay Area's supporting and leading role in the nation's economic development and opening up policy.

"One country, two systems" is the advantage of Hong Kong in the Greater Bay Area, and serves as an important foundation for the Greater Bay Area to go global. Chinese leaders commonly reiterate the principle of "one country, two systems," under which the people of Hong Kong govern themselves with a high degree of autonomy. Promoting the development of the Greater Bay Area enriches the practice of "one country, two systems," which is conducive to maintaining Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability. It will not blur the boundary of the "two systems" like some people fear, nor will it affect Hong Kong's status as a separate customs territory.

Under the "one country, two systems" policy, Hong Kong enjoys unique dual advantages. Even as part of the country, it has its own economic, legal and social systems. It is a highly open and international city with an inviting and convenient business environment and excellent professional services. We can join these advantages of Hong Kong to the vast market, complete industrial system, strong technological presence and other advantages of the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. By promoting the coordinated development of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong will further enhance its status as an international financial, shipping and trade center, as well as an international aviation hub.

Hong Kong will be an active participant, facilitator and promoter. It can share its rich experience in international connections with the mainland and help introduce foreign investors. It can also work with mainland enterprises to jointly explore overseas markets and seek out development opportunities, and consequently, to promote the economic growth of both sides and achieve mutually beneficial results.

Xi Yanchun:

Thank you, Mr. Zhang. Now, Mr. Mi Jian, please.

Mi Jian:

Good afternoon. I'm going to talk about our understandings of the outline development plan from the perspective of the Macao SAR.

Firstly, the outline development plan bestows Macao with a new historic mission and new responsibilities. We find there are 49 items in the outline development plan concerning the Macao SAR, highlighting the importance of Macao during the development and construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Let me summarize this aspect under four headings.

First, it lists Macao as one of the four principal cities involved in the development and construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, making it a "core engine" for regional development. For a small area like Macao to undertake such a significant role shows the central government's trust in us and its sense of anticipation.

Second, the 12th and 13th Five-Year plans clarified Macao's roles as a global tourism and leisure center, as well as an economic and trade cooperation platform between China and Lusophone countries. This has been stressed again in the outline development plan.

Third, it calls on Macao to develop into a base for exchange and cooperation where Chinese culture is the mainstream but co-existing with diverse cultures. This reflects a high appreciation of the historical position and distinctive culture of Macao, as well as the successful co-existence of diversified cultures.

Fourth, one of the key goals of the outline development plan is to pursue the development of the "Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao" innovation and technology corridor, where Macao becomes one of the supporting points. These four aspects summarize the positioning and the mission given to Macao, reflecting its responsibility as well as the challenges it faces.

In addition, the release and implementation of the outline development plan will bring a once-in-a-thousand-year chance for Macao's development. If Macao can seize this opportunity, proactively participate in the development and construction of the greater bay area, it will surely achieve "leapfrog development" of itself, and diversified economic and social development in this process. This would create conditions and lay a solid foundation for the prosperity and stability of Macao as well as ensuring better lives for future generations. That's a social and historical responsibility the Macao SAR government must undertake. Thank you.

Xi Yanchun:

Thank you, Mr. Mi. Now, the floor is open to questions. Please identify your media organizations before asking questions.