(Essential questions) Wang Fuqiang: Can Hengqin achieve "Greater Macau"?
China News Service, Guangzhou, September 11th. Title: Wang Fuqiang: Can Hengqin achieve "Greater Macau"?
China News Agency reporter Cheng Jingwei
Recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Overall Plan for the Construction of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone", which clarified the four strategic positioning of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone: a new platform to promote the moderately diversified economic development of Macao, and to facilitate the life and employment of Macao residents. New space, a new demonstration of enriching the practice of "One Country, Two Systems", and a new highland for promoting the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Where are the major innovations of the overall plan?
What impact will the breakthrough policy have?
How to build a good cooperation zone?
Wang Fuqiang, director and researcher of the Industrial Planning Department of the China International Economic Exchange Center, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service on "Question of East and West" to make an in-depth analysis.
The summary of the interview record is as follows:
Major Institutional Exploration: Promoting the Realization of a "Greater Macau"
Reporter from China News Service: In your opinion, where do you think the major innovations of the "Overall Plan for the Construction of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone" are embodied?
Wang Fuqiang: The
first is the innovation of the management system.
This is a major system exploration. The overall plan puts forward "a sound system for Guangdong and Macao to discuss, build, manage, and share". It is a development and improvement in the new era of "one country, two systems". It is two heterogeneous systems of socialism and capitalism. Effective exploration of in-depth cooperation under the framework.
The choice of this new system is based on the previous relevant experience of Guangdong and Macao cooperation, and focuses on the comprehensive consideration of building a stable cooperative relationship.
The data picture shows people enjoying the light sculpture performance of the Macau Light and Shadow Festival at the Ruins of the Grand San Bus in Macau.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Sheng Jiapeng
The second is the innovative design of the management model.
Under the leadership of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Construction Leading Group, Guangdong and Macao jointly established the Cooperation Zone Management Committee and implemented a dual director system. The governor of Guangdong Province and the Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region shall jointly serve as the deputy director of the Macao Special Administrative Region. .
In this way, Macao has been given full decision-making power, protected its rights and interests, and at the same time effectively solved the issue of subject equality and Macao's participation path.
This kind of innovation facilitates Hengqin's creation of a soft system environment that converges with Macau, and is convenient for attracting Macau residents to live and work here.
This model is conducive to the introduction of Macau's management model, management concepts, and management methods, creating a production and living environment similar to Macau, and appropriately enlarging the "small Macau" to the "big Hengqin".
Since Macao's return to the motherland, although it has made great progress in all aspects, it still faces problems such as limited development space and a single industry.
"Little Macau" is too small, with a small space and a single industry, and cannot sustain stable development.
To promote the long-term prosperity and stability of Macao, it is necessary to provide space for it. Hengqin's approximately 106 square kilometers of space is to support the diversified development of Macao's industry and support the life and employment of Macao residents.
Such a "little Macau" plus a "big Hengqin" can realize a "big Macau".
We can make "Da Hengqin" a fictitious space for "Little Macau".
In this way, it provides industrial space and physical space for Macau, which in turn supports its development.
In addition, Hengqin’s new system clarifies the “revenue sharing” mechanism, which demonstrates that Macau can effectively share the dividends of Hengqin’s construction and development, which is conducive to strengthening Macau’s confidence and enthusiasm for investing in Hengqin.
Expansion of Customs Territory: Carrying Macau's New Industries
China News Agency reporter: What do you think are breakthrough policies in the overall plan, and what impact will it bring?
Wang Fuqiang: The
overall plan puts forward some breakthrough policies. Among them, the requirement of "a 15% reduction in corporate income tax on eligible industrial enterprises in the cooperation zone" will promote the rapid development of the headquarters economy.
In addition, the financial opening policy is very prominent, especially the “full convertibility under the foreign debt of non-financial enterprises” policy. This is a major innovation in cross-border financial management. It is a policy of real money and will promote Hengqin to develop into a world-class Financing center.
Data map: Hengqin Port implements a new side inspection mode of "cooperative inspection, one-time release".
Photo by Chen Jimin
At the same time, the overall plan proposes a policy of "first-line" deregulation of goods and "second-line" control, which is also a major breakthrough.
From the perspective of tariff management, a “domestic customs and foreign” management system will be formed, which is equivalent to that under the WTO framework, China has fine-tuned the spatial scope of its three customs territories and appropriately expanded Macao’s customs territories to the scope of Hengqin. China’s customs territory is relatively compressed.
In this way, it is equivalent to constructing a new area in Hengqin that is compatible with Macao's tariff level. This area can fully carry the new industries planned by Macao.
Return to the original aspiration: Promote Macau's integration into the overall development of the country
China News Service: Among the four strategic positioning of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone, the first one is "a new platform to promote the moderately diversified development of Macao's economy." What do you think?
Wang Fuqiang:
The construction of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao
Intensive
Cooperation Zone is not only to increase the GDP scale and develop the economy, but to cooperate with the moderately diversified development of Macao's industries.
The construction of the cooperation zone is also of great significance to Guangdong.
There has been a long-term problem of unbalanced and insufficient development within Guangdong. The development gap between the Pearl River Delta region and the eastern and western regions of Guangdong, and between the east bank of the Pearl River and the west bank of the Pearl River is very large. The GDP scale of Macau-Zhuhai pole is about that of Shenzhen-Hong Kong pole. One-tenth of that.
Data map: The Qingmao Port of the Guangdong-Macao New Passage was opened. In the arrival hall, Macao residents are conducting self-service customs clearance in an orderly manner.
Photo by Chen Jimin
Under such circumstances, how to build the cooperation zone, enlarge the development level of the west bank of the Pearl River, realize the balanced development of both sides of the Pearl River, and promote the development of northwestern Guangdong through the rise of the west bank of the Pearl River, and realize the balanced development of the whole province is what Guangdong needs. Questions to consider.
Promoting the construction of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone and driving the development of backward areas will be a good historical opportunity. It will also bring a win-win situation for both Guangdong and Macao to jointly build a world-class bay area.
Compared with other bay areas in the world, the most significant difference between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is that the Bay Area has three legal systems and three customs zones. It is a coordinated development under the framework of a heterogeneous system, and multiple components have a development potential. Different from the system, we can learn from each other and learn from each other to give full play to the advantages and form the effect of coordinated development.
The mainland has the advantages of strong execution, people-oriented, strong scientific and technological innovation, and solid economy. Hong Kong and Macao have the characteristics of business environment, international exchanges, transparent rule of law, and high marketability. They can learn from each other and compensate each other.
To promote the pragmatic cooperation of different systems, it is necessary to adopt a management model of extensive consultation, joint construction, joint management and sharing.
Both Hengqin and Qianhai are the junctions of the two systems. They are in the area where the waters of yin and yang meet. Innovative explorations in the junctions of this system can enrich and improve our governance system and advance the governance system. The modernization of governance capabilities provides advanced institutional supplies for the development of late-developing regions.
Facing international and domestic: carry out high-level two-way opening
Reporter from China News Service: To build the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone, what aspects are needed to participate in order to ensure the effectiveness of the construction?
Wang Fuqiang: It is
necessary to give full play to the strengths of all parties involved in the construction of the cooperation zone to truly form a joint force.
Macau has a greater say in the cooperation zone, but its own talent pool is not enough to support the construction of the cooperation zone.
Therefore, it is necessary to make full use of existing human resources, especially the enthusiasm of the existing construction team.
At the same time, we must actively seek support from the central government, Guangdong Province, and Zhuhai City to form a strong construction force.
Data map: Hengqin·Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Valley Sun Qiuxia
As a high-end open platform, the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone should also attract teams with international perspectives to join in, and develop high-level two-way openings both at home and abroad.
For China, Macau is a window for the mainland to go global; for the international community, Macau is the main platform and main battlefield for multinational companies to enter the Chinese market.
In this process, the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone must undertake the mission of two-way opening up, and it must do a good job of communication and bridges under the background of accelerating the construction of a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and the domestic and international double cycles mutually promoting each other. The role of.
At the same time, it is necessary to fully respect the market and use market-oriented and rule-of-law means to attract all kinds of talents, including talents from home and abroad, governments, universities, think tanks, business associations, and enterprises.
Efforts should be made to promote the formation of a "special zone for talents" in the new era.
If the leader of the reform and opening up in the past 40 years is mainly to look at Shenzhen on the east bank of the Pearl River, then the reform and opening up "start again", we should look at the whole area on the west bank of the Pearl River with Hengqin as the traction.
(over)
About the interviewee:
Wang Fuqiang, Director of the Industrial Planning Department of China International Economic Exchange Center, researcher, PhD in civil and commercial law from China University of Political Science and Law, visiting scholar at the University of Michigan in the United States, has long been concerned with areas such as regional development, industrial policy and corporate governance.
Many achievements have received high-level attention.