How can Guangzhou lure Hong Kong universities to set up branches?
- Incentives for personnel and student exchanges would be one place to start, says delegate to a municipal advisory body
- But different management mindsets could be a barrier to partnerships, according to a researcher
The southern Chinese manufacturing hub of Guangzhou needs to work harder to lure universities from neighbouring Hong Kong to set up branches and work with local tech companies to get products to market.
The suggestion was part of a number of proposals to the Guangzhou Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a municipal advisory body that held its annual conference over the weekend.
Xiao Guowei, a conference delegate and president of APT Electronics in Guangzhou, said that so far only Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) was setting up a campus in the provincial capital.
He said Guangzhou should reach out to more Hong Kong universities and encourage them to establish research centres and laboratories in the southern Chinese city and support them through incentives such as personnel and student exchanges.
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In addition, he said that Guangzhou should encourage Hong Kong universities to test their scientific research results in the southern mainland city.
“[We should] encourage Hong Kong universities to join hands with technology companies in Guangzhou so they can convert their research efforts into commercial products, and achieve marketisation,” Xiao said in his proposal.
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The HKUST Guangzhou campus is expected to recruit students in 2022.
Baptist University is running United International College in Zhuhai in partnership with the Beijing Normal University and the University of Hong Kong has also set up a hospital in Shenzhen providing medical services and engaging in research and education.
However, Fu Chengzhe, an associate professor of the GBA research centre of South China Normal University, said there were problems in bridging difference between the two cooperating parties in such projects because they came with different management ideas and mindsets.
“Hong Kong universities are very autonomous. The authorities have limited control over universities. And the president of the university is accountable to the board, unlike the universities in the mainland,” said Fu, adding that universities in mainland are run by Communist Party secretaries.
“We need to explore ways to better deal with the tension between the two different systems and two different schooling models, the relationship between the party secretary and the president to make decisions effectively.”
Fok Kai-man, grandson of the late Hong Kong tycoon Henry Fok, meanwhile, said the Guangzhou government would need to strengthen the influence of business chambers and associations to help young people from Hong Kong to move to GBA.
He said the impact of these bodies was limited, especially at the grass-roots level.
“I think that this is an area that needs to be strengthened in the future,” said Fok, who is also a member of the consultative conference.
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Aaron Yong, 31, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, has lived in Guangdong for more than 11 years. He said GBA can become attractive to young people in Hong Kong and change their perception of the mainland.
“Even today, Hong Kong people don’t enjoy the same convenience like mainlanders in things like buying high-speed train tickets. Most companies are still reluctant to hire Hong Kong people for fear of trouble, as they have to apply for special permits. The majority of banks reject Hong Kong people’s applications for home mortgages if they want to buy properties on the mainland,” Yang said, “I have learned all these from my experiences.”
According to a CPPCC report, there are about 192,000 Hongkongers aged between 15 and 39 living in Guangdong province.
“For people who are willing to come and live in the mainland, how to integrate with the community is a significant issue psychologically. Moving here is the first step, not the final step,” Fu said. “While the main door is open, there are many little doors that are still shut and they are critical [for the success]. I think this is the problem of the last mile.”
