CCIEE Leaders Attend the 11th Pan-Pearl River Delta Forum

With the approval of the State Council, the 11th Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation & Development Forum and Trade & Economic Fair, co-hosted by nine provinces and Hong Kong and Macao SARs in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) and co-organized by Guangdong and Fujian provinces, was held at Dongfang Hotel, Guangzhou City on 25 August 2016.

Under the theme of “Deeper Cooperation and Free Trade Zone Innovation and Promotion in the PPRD”, the forum consisted of a number of activities including the keynote forum, thematic dialogue, four specialized forums, business dialogue, trade and economic fair and field trips. Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of CCIEE, and Mr. Wei Jianguo, Vice Chairman and Deputy CEO of CCIEE, attended the keynote forum upon invitation.

Mr Zhang Xiaoqiang also gave an important speech at the thematic dialogue. He noted that working together, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao can play a special role in building the “Belt and Road”. Guangdong is a key engine for the Maritime Silk Road, Hong Kong one of the three international financial, trade and shipping hubs, and Macao has grown into a world-class tourism and entertainment center. Working in concert, the three places are in a good position to build a Greater Bay Area around them. Moreover, their cooperation will create great potential for deepening cooperation between the nine inland provinces and Hong Kong and Macao. The building of the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao can not only upgrade the level of cooperation among the three places, but also help foster a major economic supporting belt based on the Pearl River-Xijiang River economic belt and spearheaded by the Greater Bay Area. Such a belt would boost the development of Central South and Southwest China and contribute to the growth of Southeast and South Asia.

Mr. Zhang put forward four suggestions on how to build the Greater Bay Area. First, integrate the local infrastructure and improve the comprehensive transport system in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Second, enhance industrial cooperation. Third, strengthen social and ecological programs and step up cooperation in branding and entertainment industry. Last but not the least, improve innovation mechanism for investment, trade, finance and comprehensive supervision and regulation.

Mr. Wei Jianguo attended the Sub-forum on PPRD Coordinated Development that afternoon and gave a keynote speech. Mr. Wei pointed out that a country has to become the engine of global economic growth before it can become the center of the world. Apparently, the bay economy has been a key driver of economic growth: 60% of the global economy is concentrated on estuaries, including the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas, and 75% of the metropolis and 70% of the industrial capital and population are located in the coastal areas 100 kilometers from the sea. These areas are the powerhouse of the whole economy.

Mr. Wei suggested that Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Transport and NDRC jointly initiate the establishment of an international league of bay areas that convenes a bay administrators’ meeting on a regular basis to link up the “Belt and Road” (B&R) initiative with the construction of the Greater Bay Area and provide a platform for B&R business cooperation.

During the interaction time, Mr. Wei elaborated on his thought about the establishment of the league. He said that it is the league’s task to break down the trade barriers to reallocate global resources, including the human resources, and contribute to the building of a community of common interests, common responsibility and shared future.

The Sub-forum was organized by CCIEE and focused on the think tanks’ perspective on the building of the Greater Bay Area. Mr. Zheng Detao, President of the Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies of the Sun Yat-sen University, Mr Ling Jiaqin, Director of the Planning Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Mr. Zhang Zurong, Chairman of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr. Chen Yao, Research Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Economics of CASS and Secretary-General of the Chinese Association for Regional Economics, and Mr. Zheng Yongnian, President of East Asian Institute of National University of Singapore, also gave inspiring speeches at the sub-forum. Over 300 participants from the policy research and development and reform departments of the nine provinces and Hong Kong and Macao SARs, institutes of higher learning in Guangzhou, and other research institutions and non-governmental think tanks attended the sub-forum.