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Cary Huang

The central government has for the first time outlined a long-term development blueprint for economic co-operation and interaction in the Pearl River Delta region  among Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong.
Speaking at a media briefing on reform and development of the Pearl River Delta until 2020, Du Ying , vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, also revealed that the central government would provide  5 billion yuan (HK$5.68 billion) towards the cost of building a bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai .
Mr Du said the funding was unprecedented and construction would begin this year.
Under the plan, the Pearl River Delta  would become 'globally competitive' and the 'most vigorous area in the Asia-Pacific region' by 2020.
'We believe that further strengthening of close co-operation among Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong is a prerequisite for overcoming the difficulties of the current economic crisis and realising new development,' Mr Du said.
He said the plan was a comprehensive and complete strategy for the enhancement of economic co-operation  among the three regions.
Under the plan,  Guangdong 'will pursue convergence with Hong Kong and Macau in terms of urban planing, rail transit networks, information networks, energy base networks and urban water supply'.
It also calls for accelerated construction of cross-border transport and infrastructure projects.
The development plan aimed to strengthen industrial co-operation and explore co-operation in education, culture, health care and social security.
Mr Du said the delta, once in the vanguard of the mainland's capitalist economic reforms, would continue in its role as a test bed for the country's deepening reforms and opening to the outside world.
Guangdong's economic output exceeded that of Taiwan in 2007 for the first time, topping 3.06 trillion yuan (US$448 billion),  representing one-eighth of the mainland's total, he said.
The province surpassed Singapore and Hong Kong in 1998 and 2003, respectively.
However, Huang Longyun, Guangdong's executive vice-governor, said at the same briefing that provincial economic growth slowed sharply last year as exports plunged amid the global downturn, closing factories and sparking an exodus of migrant workers.
Growth in provincial gross domestic product  slowed to 10.1 per cent in 2008 from 14.7 per cent a year earlier, while export growth tumbled to 5.6 per cent last year from 22.3 per cent in 2007, he said.
'The situation is grim,' Mr Huang said.
Mr Huang said 62,400 companies in the province went out of business last year. Most were small firms in the delta in traditional industries.  As a result, about 600,000 migrant workers had left the province.
Flowing into the future
Highlights of the goals the central government has set for the Pearl River Delta over the next 12 years
2012
Per capita annual output: 80,000 yuan
Average lifespan: 78 years
Percentage of urbanised area: 80%
Percentage of urban and rural residents covered by social security: 100%
Percentage of urban workers covered by pension insurance: 95%
2020
Per capita annual output: 135,000 yuan
Average lifespan: 80 years
Percentage of urbanised area: 85%
High-end manufacturing's share of industrial output: 50%
Annual sales of 10 China-based multinationals: US$20b
Source: Xinhua



Beijing reveals blueprint for delta's economic growth