“The dual circulation strategy clearly indicates that China will continue its economic reform and remain open to the rest of the world”, Lawrence J. Lau, former President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong shared his vision for Chinese economic relationship with the rest of the world at the 2021 Understanding China Conference on December 3. “And the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) can serve as a pilot area for new economic reform and opening measures.” 

In September this year, China released two plans to spur the development of the GBA by linking Hong Kong and Macao to their neighboring cities Shenzhen and Macao, in a bid to enhance free flow of factors as well as cross-border collaboration.

“The sum is greater than its separate parts,” Lau described the GBA, and he explained it with the inequation “9 + 1 + 1 > 11”. The increased economic connectivity, whether due to improvements in the intercity basic infrastructure or to the elimination of legal and other barriers to the free flow of factors, goods and services, makes possible new economic activities that are not possible previously.

Lau indicated that the GBA is the natural home of the "International Financial Centre" for East Asia. “Future initiatives can include the development of an active, deep, liquid and wide bond market in both Renminbi and Hong Kong Dollar, the formation of an East-Asia-wide stock exchange, as well as the establishment of a re-insurance market for East Asia.”

“The GBA has sufficient economic mass-- GDP, population, wealth, human capital and the vast hinterland of a supportive China to compete with any other bay area in the world,” he said, “Within the GBA, Hong Kong and Shenzhen together can become a global innovation, venture investment, start-up and financing hub, combining the Silicon Valley, Route 128, New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ into one, serving not just the GBA but the entire Mainland and East Asia. ”

Author: Holly

Editor: Keane, Jerry