Government leaders from eight southern provinces, one autonomous region, and the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, have vowed to strengthen regional economic cooperation.

They made the pledge at a regional cooperation and development forum that closes in Guangzhou Thursday afternoon (June 3rd).

The Pan-Pearl River Delta economic cooperation scheme aims to forge closer links between the mainland's southern provinces and China's two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macao.

At the three-day conference, leaders agreed to make joint efforts to improve infrastructure and transportation across the Pearl River Delta region.

The central government has also taken measures to support cooperation across the region with the building of transportation hubs.

Topping the agenda is railway construction. Plans focus on increasing the capacity of passenger transportation and building inter-city lines.

The planned lines would link Guangdong Province with almost every part of the country.

New lines linking Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, with Shenzhen and Zhuhai, two important cities in the province, will be complete by 2010. And by the year 2020, a railway transportation network will connect Guangzhou with even minor centers across the Pearl River Delta region.

In addition, the Ministry of Communications plans to build 22 expressways with a total length of 30,000 kilometers in the region. The aim is to extend and consolidate Hong Kong's role as an international center of shipping and logistics.

The Pearl River Delta region covers an area of 200 square kilometers, almost one-fifth of China's total. It has one-third of the country's population and accounts for 40 percent of China's total GDP.

Editor: Catherine