After Shanghai, is Pearl River Delta free-trade zone next?

Although analysts believe it might take years to establish a free-trade zone covering Hong Kong, Macau and part of the Pearl River Delta, a senior official said the region would continue to fight for one.

He Zijun, deputy director general of the Qianhai Authority, told journalists on a media tour this week that the group would continue to rally support to become part of the any future trade area.

Hopes have been lifted after the Communist Party’s Central Committee concluded with a resolution indicating there should be more free-trade zones in addition to the one already planned for Shanghai.

Although it stopped short of saying that one should be in Guangdong, the province appears to be a front runner.

“After the plenum, the state is inclined to speed up construction of free-trade zones without specifying which one,” He said. “We feel Guangdong has a good chance.”

Analysts said Guangdong has not yet submitted a proposal for a free-trade zone covering Hong Kong, Macau and part of the Pearl River Delta as it needs to work out more details.

Ding Li, an economist at the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, said: “It’s far from the final version, let alone ... getting approval from Beijing.”