Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua has called for the creation of a Greater Pearl River Delta taking in Hong Kong and Macau that would rival the Yangtze River Delta.
The existing delta region has a gross domestic product (GDP) of 100 billion yuan (HK$95.24 billion) which when combined with the two special administrative regions would be equivalent to the Yangtze River Delta's GDP, of 200 billion yuan, he said.
Mr Huang, who is attending the National People's Congress, was giving his first interview since being appointed governor in January.
'All three parties must benefit from the Pearl River Delta co-operation. It cannot be one party or two parties reaping all the benefits,' he said.
It was the first time a top Guangdong official had openly called for Greater Pearl River Delta co-operation as a way of competing with Shanghai and signals a strong desire to move government-to-government co-operation with Hong Kong and Macau beyond rhetoric.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, in his policy address on January 8, said greater co-operation with the Pearl River Delta would lead Hong Kong out of its economic woes.
There have also been calls by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce for a Greater Pearl River Delta economic council along the lines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum.
