The Zhuhai Opera House. [Photo / Nanfang Daily]

On February 18th Chinese authorities unveiled the outline development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Taking full advantage of the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to China, Zhuhai will reinforce cooperation with its neighbour and establish itself as a core city on the west bank of the Pearl River estuary.

These remarks were delivered by Yan Weimin, Deputy Secretary of Party Leadership Group in Development and Reform Commission of Zhuhai Municipal Government and  Executive Deputy of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Affairs Office of Zhuhai’s Municipal Government, in an exclusive interview with Southcn.com and Newsgd.com, sharing his opinion on Zhuhai’s role and future plans regarding the development of the GBA.

Further its advantage in advanced manufacturing industry

The intelligent euipment of Gree. [Photo / Nanfang Daily]

Yan emphasized that Zhuhai now is sparing no effort on GBA construction in accordance with the Central Committee and Provincial Government’s allocation and requirements.

A special cooperation mechanism has been established to boost the city’s GBA construction efforts, focusing on cooperation in the construction of the Hengqin ‘New Area’, sci-tech innovation, infrastructure projects, environmental protection, modern industry development and financial cooperation with local characteristics.

Regarding modern industry development, Yan explained that efforts will be made to expedite the development of the advanced manufacturing industry. Since Zhuhai is a city with a solid foundation in manufacturing, as a next step the city will cultivate a batch of leading companies in advanced manufacturing and robotic manufacturing, and boost transformation and upgrade in the industry.

The outline development plan of the GBA indicated that the region will strive for optimizing the layout of the manufacturing industry and constructing a economic zone with strong advantages in manufacturing, focused on Zhuhai and Foshan on the west bank of the Pearl River.

Additionally, the city will join hands with Macao to develop the leisure and recreation industry in Hengqin, making the island a excellent place for leisure and tourism. Investments will be focused on comprehensive projects that include pension, housing, education and health-care sectors.

Global talent recruit with joint efforts in GBA

The Innovation Valley HQ. [Photo / Nanfang Daily]

Yan stressed that encouraging young people from Hong Kong and Macao to develop start-ups is of importance to Zhuhai. Hence the city plans to fully leverage the opportunity of the province’s Sci-tech Innovation Corridor, and promote the development of the Hengqin Innovation Alley, building a better platform for Macao youth entrepreneurs.

Yan said that the city will reinforce its cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao in R&D and also speed up the construction of Hengqin Science Town, offering preferential support to AI, Bio-pharmaceuticals, digital economy and other emerging industries.

Moreover, the city will attempt to attract more high-level talent from foreign countries, Hong Kong and Macao by implementing more preferential talent-recruiting policies and projects and providing better public services in terms of education, health-care, housing and so on, in order to create a better environment for them in the city.

Strengthen infrastructural connectivity with Macao

At the same time, Yan indicated that as a next step Zhuhai will strengthen its infrastructural connectivity with Macao. A high-speed rail link will be introduced, and the Guangzhou-Zhuhai intercity line will be extended to Macao via Hengqin Station.

Also efforts will be made to accelerate the work of relocating the Lotus Port to Hengqin Port, as well as the construction of a comprehensive transportation hub in Hengqin Port.

At the same time, the State Council approved the construction of Qingmao Port, a new channel linking Guangdong and Macao plans for which were unveiled in 2017. Now the port is finally under construction. Zhuhai will give its full cooperation to Macao in this project.

Supervisor: Liu Jianneng, Hu Zhiyong

Planning: Tang Lina, Zhang Ying, He Jingwen

Reporters: Liu Jianneng, Zhang Chenping, Chen Jiesheng, Hu Nan

Photography: He Jingwen

English Editor: Ouyang Yan, Simon Haywood