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SCMP Reporter

Every member of the pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) grouping  has common goals: promoting investment and generating wealth through regional co-operation.

When officials and business representatives meet today  for a four-day economic and trade symposium in Guangzhou to discuss PPRD co-operation, they will showcase their strengths and attempt to strike deals that will bring the  nine provinces as well as Hong Kong and Macau - known as the '9+2' - even closer.

Before the opening of the seminar, the Guangdong government was already boasting that 200 billion yuan worth of contracts would be struck during the event. It said this was a result of the improved synergy which has emerged among members as a result of the closer co-operation.

Sichuan  and Hunan  say they have abundant, educated and cheap labour. Jiangxi  has minerals, as do Guizhou  and Yunnan , which are also rich in energy and tourism resources.

Sichuan boasts tourist attractions and an industrial base, while Hunan, Hainan  and Jiangxi also want to develop tourism.

Fujian  wants co-operation with the PPRD because it wants to handle cargo from Guizhou and Jiangxi, but above all, it wants closer links with Taiwan.

Guangxi sees itself as a bridge that can link Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau to China's western frontiers.

Some officials, including Haikou Party Secretary Wang Fuyu , recognise that the provinces need to offer something apart from cheap labour and land to draw investment their way.

'Hainan will have a future if we can keep our buildings low, air clean and environment unpolluted,' Mr Wang said. 'Hainan can be the garden of the Pearl River Delta.'

The provinces all want capital and management expertise from Hong Kong and Macau, but investors from the two cities will have to do their homework before deciding where to put their money.

Hong Kong investors are mostly expected to go where big projects are on offer.

Power generation in Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi is one attractive area where Hong Kong's presence has traditionally been strong, while the central government's support for a transportation network linking the provinces is another key opportunity.

At this stage of their development, inland provinces have a finite appetite for the services that Hong Kong can offer, but there are other sectors that could see a stronger Hong Kong involvement - such as  Chinese medicine and flower cultivation.

However, Hong Kong investors will have to be aware of the conservative and bureaucratic systems in some provinces.

And, of course, there is also a dimension of competition among the provinces.

Sichuan, the richest of the inland provinces, has only one objective:  breaking Chongqing's  stranglehold on its exports.

Guangdong Development and Reform Commission Director General Chen Shanru cited the barriers each province had erected to protect their tourism sectors from outsiders.

However, Guangdong itself is guilty of forcing professionals from outside the province to pay for the right to work there.

The vice-president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Guangdong, David Peng Dezhi, said he was optimistic that departmental meetings would break down protectionism.

'People won't dare to be so bold in putting up barriers when their actions can be pointed out at these meetings,' he said.

Even so, without high-level direction and targets, it is hard to see how a common market will come into being.



Gathering lays foundations of an economic powerhouse