Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2020 | Page 41

Hong Kong Young Writers Awards 2020
The Greater Bay Area:
A Land of Opportunity
Sha Tin College, Chan, Cyrus – 16
From agrarian economy to global powerhouse - China’s economic transformation has
been nothing short of extraordinary. This upward trajectory in economic growth has not
come by accident but is the result of several strategic derivatives along with meticulous
planning. However, this pales in comparison to its most ambitious plan to date: The Greater
Bay Area Initiative. The main goal is to develop the region into an international innovation
and technology hub, improve connectivity between cities and seize the opportunities that are
provided by the country’s most open and economically vibrant region. With integration as the
focus of the initiative, many critics worry about the Special Administrative Region status that
sets apart Hong Kong and Macau, and whether the merging of different tax and legal systems
will prove to be too much for investors. Another underlying concern is that the Greater Bay
Area Initiative seems to directly benefit China the most through their leveraging of Hong
Kong and Macau’s Special Administrative Region status, however while on the surface this
may be the case, Hong Kong and Macau too are put in a position to succeed.
So, what is this Greater Bay Initiative? This ambitious and somewhat vague blueprint
lays out lofty aspirations for the major cities within the region to develop into specialised
economic hubs. Hong Kong would be able to bolster its status as a finance and trading hub.
Shenzhen - home to the telecom giants Huawei - would cement itself as the tech hub of
the east, while Macau would focus on developing into the region’s tourism hub. In addition
to this, the initiative is also looking towards the future, intending on plans to improve the
innovation capacity through collaborations such as the Hong Kong - Shenzhen Innovation
and Technology Park, as well as the establishment of the Youth Development Fund which
provides financial support in the form of matching funds for NGOs to support the youth
of Hong Kong to be entrepreneurs. Considering all that has been organised, it is clear to
conclude that there are high hopes for the region to flourish.
Comprising of the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, the
Greater Bay Area also includes the nine municipalities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai,
Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing. With three of the world’s
top 10 busiest container ports and air freight traffic greater than San Francisco, New York and
Tokyo combined, the Greater Bay Area only occupies less than 1% of China’s land area, yet
they contribute to 12% of the total gross domestic product. And with a population greater
than the whole of the UK and twice that of Canada, China aspires the region will be able to
develop into an urban cluster to rival global cities alike. Built upon the core cities of Hong
Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the Chinese government aims to leverage their
comparative advantages and utilising them as integral engines for regional development, with
hopes that it will have a radiating effect for the development of the key node cities (Zhuhai,
Jiangmen, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhaoqing).
So, what are these core cities like, and what do they have to offer for the Greater Bay
Area? Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient, being the most international city in the Greater
Bay Area provides a business - friendly environment with a free economic system; in addition
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