The idea of bringing Hong Kong and Shenzhen closer is not a new one. However, it had not received much attention until early this year when Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen included the establishment of a strategic partnership with Shenzhen - to jointly develop a world-class metropolis - as part of his election platform.
With the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre recently releasing a commissioned report on the subject, and the Central Policy Unit holding a high-level Hong Kong-Shenzhen Co-operation Forum last week, the metropolis idea is fast gaining momentum.
Shenzhen's mayor, Xu Zongheng , describes the two cities as an 'economic dream team', saying that building such a metropolis reflects the common wishes of the two governments and people. However, even the Bauhinia report admits not all Hong Kong officials, experts and enterprises interviewed are so optimistic; some have doubts.
Much has been said about the economic advantages of greater interflow of key resources - people, goods and capital - and functional linkages and complementarities between the two cities. There is enough ground to believe that deeper co-operation would bring about a win-win outcome for both cities, not only strengthening their respective global competitiveness, but also producing significant impact on the mainland and the wider region.
Both cities have reached a bottleneck in their economic development and desperately need a breakthrough. Shenzhen's '2030 City Development Strategy' attaches great importance to joint development with Hong Kong. As for Hong Kong, Mr Tsang laments its small home economy. In order to catch up with New York, London and Tokyo, he advocates further integration with the mainland economy. Shenzhen is an obvious target for such an integration approach.
Promoting Hong Kong-Shenzhen co-operation and integration is one thing. A Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis is arguably of a different order. A metropolis is not just about combining the gross domestic products of two economies, or speedier customs and immigration clearance.
An organic metropolis cannot be devoid of supporting institutions, politics, law, and social integration, leading ultimately to a sense of common identity. The Bauhinia report cautions that the metropolis concept does not call for the 'assimilation' of the two cities in substance, nor the 'integration' of their social life.
