Will Hong Kong get left behind in ‘Greater Bay Area’ push?
Mainland experts say Guangdong has a plan B ready if special administrative region is slow off the mark
Guangdong has a plan B in case Hong Kong does not get its cross-border development act together under the “Greater Bay Area” scheme, mainland planning experts warn.
As Guangdong pushes ahead with drafting its blueprint for a grand regional conurbation that has been likened to the San Francisco and Tokyo bay areas, mainland academics are asking whether Hong Kong is serious about being part of it.
The scheme, aimed at integrating Pearl River Delta cities in Guangdong with Hong Kong and Macau to form a global innovation hub, was among the priorities for this year announced by the central government in March. Local governments are set to submit their plans to Beijing by September.
Hong Kong, operating under a different administrative system, moves more cautiously when it comes to railways, bridges and tunnels than its rapidly advancing mainland neighbours, whose massive infrastructure projects have transformed the delta’s landscape in recent years.
Chen Xinxin, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, urged Hong Kong to set political differences aside and think seriously about the direction of future development.