Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2020complete | Page 107
appliance industries in Zhuhai and Foshan are also forcing their counterparts in Tokyo to move further
upstream of the industry. Last but not least, Macao offers the best tourism and gaming services in the Eastern
Hemisphere, not only perfectly addressing the entertainment needs within the area, but also attracting capital
flows from all East Asia.
Undoubtedly, this type of industrial division helps foster deep and frequent cross-integration within the
Greater Bay Area, leading to the birth of more new technologies and products, which, in return, establishes
unique advantages in seizing the emerging industries in the future, such as artificial intelligence, intelligent
manufacturing, and the Internet of things.
Nevertheless, despite its advantages, the Greater Bay Area also faces various challenges.
While the Bay area has achieved world-class competitiveness at these levels, it cannot hide the
embarrassment of lacking core technologies, specifically in the area of semiconductors. U.S. sanctions on
ZTE in 2018 almost drove China’s leading telecommunications company to the brink of collapse and
exposed China’s weakness in semiconductors and chips. If China cannot make a breakthrough, the survival
of tech manufacturing industry in the Greater Bay Area, or the entire country, will depend on foreign
companies.
Fortunately, efforts are under way and bearing fruit. 5G chips designed by Huawei’s Hisilicon company are
said to be as capable as similar products from Qualcomm. And in terms of chip manufacturing, Guangzhou
has also broken ground on two fabs and foundries successively.
In addition, the Greater Bay Area will have to counter the challenge of regional administrative barriers.
Within the geographical scope of the narrow Bay Area, every city cannot help but face fierce internal
competition in order to obtain more resources and economic advantages, which will lead to inefficient
allocation of resources. Twenty years ago, in order to connect the pearl river delta, Hong Kong, Shenzhen,
and the west bank of Macao, the region spent $20 billion and 10 years to build the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-
Macao Bridge, connecting Hong Kong, Macao, and Zhuhai, while the densely populated and economic
competitive Shenzhen was left out. Now, they have to build a separate bridge linking Shenzhen to the
opposite bank, which, due to its impact on Guangzhou’s ports and shipping routes, might face endless
delays. Overall, the internal competition in this region will never cease.
Last but not least, just as the Washington Post mentioned, the Greater Bay Area will also have to face the
striking differences in administrative and value systems between Hong Kong, Macao, and Mainland China.
Even though the development plan of Greater Bay Area aims at eliminating the differences between both
parties to a certain extent, the recent protests and demonstrations in Hong Kong have clearly showed that no
matter the geographic distance, the more international and “western” Hong Kong seemed to have a hard
time integrating into Mainland China. In the short term, neither Hong Kong nor China will find the key to
solving this dilemma.
Just as it hopes to gain more advantages and say in international trade through the BRI, the planning of the
Greater Bay Area also leaves hopes that China will gain a higher position in the international industrial
chain. Whether it can overcome the many challenges that still exist will become the key to the realization of
this hope.