Phone calls between Shenzhen, Dongguan and Huizhou will no longer be long-distance calls after the implementation of a single area code under a new agreement signed at the weekend.

The three cities will adopt the plan under an agreement signed by the three governments on further cooperation for cities on the eastern bank of the Pearl River.

Roaming fees for mobile phones and long-distance call charges would be scrapped when the plan is implemented in the future.

The three cities will cooperate in environment, infrastructure construction, industrial development and public services to increase their competitiveness as a whole.

Facing challenges from the booming Yangtze River Delta and the emerging Bohai Bay economic district in North China, the Pearl River Delta (PRD), an engine that has been driving China’s industrial growth for years, is accelerating the economic integration.

Under an outline for the reform and development of the PRD approved by the State Council last December, the PRD, together with Hong Kong and Macao SARs, will be forged into a globally competitive area in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020.

The outline focuses on nine PRD cities, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Jiangmen, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing, and reaches out to the rest of Guangdong.