This Spring Festival, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has set many "new records"——
On February 12, the single-day inbound and outbound passenger flow at Zhuhai Highway Port exceeded 130,000. On the 13th, the single-day inbound and outbound passenger flow at the port reached 144,000, breaking a new high for two consecutive days; the single-day inbound and outbound vehicle flow exceeded 18,000 vehicles for the first time, setting a new record for the highest single-day inbound and outbound vehicle flow at any port across the country.
This is a vivid epitome of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s “smooth traffic, prosperous people and prosperous wealth”. With the "two-way rush" from north to south, the flow of people, capital and logistics are intertwined, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is increasingly showing a new scene of deep integration.
The construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a major national strategy personally planned, deployed and promoted by General Secretary Xi Jinping. Five years ago on February 18, the "Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" was officially released. Over the past five years, under the conditions of one country, two systems, three customs territories, and three currencies, the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has taken solid steps and is increasingly becoming one of the most promising growth poles in the world.
Coordinated development stimulates economic momentum
△This year is the first Spring Festival holiday after the official implementation of the "Hong Kong Cars Going North" policy. It has become a new fashion for Hong Kong and Macao residents to drive "Hong Kong Cars Going North" and "Macao Cars Going North" single-plate vehicles in and out of Guangdong for the cross-border holiday.
From the continued popularity of "city-changing tours" in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao during the Spring Festival, to the realization of the entrepreneurial dreams of young people in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, to the vigorous development of enterprises in the Greater Bay Area, there is a story of "fusion and fusion" behind this.
Interconnection and coordinated development are the keys to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In the "Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area", "synergy" is mentioned many times. The construction of the Greater Bay Area is to promote complementary advantages and integrated development at a higher level.
△On April 12, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected GAC Aian New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd.
In April 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping, who was inspecting Guangdong, came to GAC Aian New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd.
In the company's showroom, six new car products are lined up. General Secretary Xi Jinping stepped forward and inspected each one with great interest. From price to sales volume, from material technology to battery technology, he asked in great detail.
During this inspection in Guangdong, the General Secretary pointed out that the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a great opportunity for Guangdong to deepen reform and opening up, and it should be implemented as soon as possible, and it is a top priority.
Benefiting from the integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, GAC Aian regards Hong Kong as a key hub for its globalization strategy and is committed to deepening cooperation with Hong Kong technology companies, conducting re-export trade, and attracting global capital investment. Last year, GAC Aian’s cumulative sales exceeded 480,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 77%, making it the fastest car brand in the world with sales exceeding one million.
△Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao (International) Youth Innovation Workshop located in Nansha, Guangzhou
The Greater Bay Area is one of the most important node areas in my country's industrial chain. The Pearl River Delta region from Guangzhou to Shenzhen is home to a large number of companies engaged in industries such as the Internet, artificial intelligence, and new energy vehicles. Through the coordinated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, companies have "introduced" more technology and capital from around the world. Hong Kong and Macao not only play the role of "front stores", but also serve as bridges to connect Guangdong and even the entire mainland with the circulation of international market factors.
As my country's largest economic province, Guangdong's total import and export accounts for about 20% of the country's total year-round. More than 300 of the world's top 500 companies have invested in the Pearl River Delta region; Hong Kong is an international financial, shipping, and trade center, as well as an international and the most competitive city in the Asia-Pacific region; Macao has the advantages of an international free port, low tax system, and extensive economic and trade network, and is rated as one of the most open trade and investment systems in the world by the World Trade Organization...Through deep integration, strong alliances and dislocations development, the "system differences" in the Greater Bay Area are being transformed into "system benefits".
The total economic volume of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will exceed 13 trillion yuan in 2022. It is one of the regions with the highest degree of openness and the strongest economic vitality in my country. The development of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao is ushering in new opportunities for iterative upgrading and balanced regional development. A win-win co-construction pattern is taking shape, demonstrating surging economic momentum.
Technological innovation presses the "accelerator button"
At a symposium in March 2017, academicians in Hong Kong pointed out that there are two restrictions on scientific research cooperation and exchanges between the mainland and Hong Kong: the issue of national scientific research funds transiting through Hong Kong and the issue of preferential tariffs for Hong Kong scientific research instruments and equipment entering the mainland. Therefore, they wrote to President Xi Jinping to reflect these situations, expressing their urgent desire to serve the motherland and their great enthusiasm for developing innovative science and technology.
Four months later, the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was officially launched. As the integrated construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area continues to advance, the problems that once troubled scientific researchers in the three places have been gradually solved, and the scientific and technological innovation track of the Greater Bay Area has pressed the "acceleration button".
2022 will be the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China. During his busy visit to Hong Kong, President Xi proposed to meet the academician representatives who wrote the letter at that time, as well as young scientific researchers and representatives of innovation and technology enterprises.
During the exchange, President Xi Jinping talked about the letter written by academicians of the two academies in Hong Kong: "At that time, I asked the relevant national departments to pay attention to the relevant situation and study measures to strengthen scientific and technological cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong. After giving instructions, I also asked several times. This time Come and take a look, I will feel more confident.”
During his trip to Hong Kong, President Xi Jinping particularly emphasized that he "hopes that Hong Kong will give full play to its own advantages, gather global innovation resources, and perfectly integrate with the mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, strengthen innovation collaboration between industry, academia and research, and strive to build a global technological innovation hub."
△The Hong Kong Science Park branch in the Shenzhen Park of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone in the Loop
The Bay Area is a geographical concept that faces the sea. In the wave of globalization, it has gradually evolved into an important growth pole that promotes global economic development. It is also an irreplaceable highland for the development of new technologies and new industries.
The world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. Global scientific and technological innovation has entered a period of intensive activity. A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation have had a profound impact on the global economic structure. The unique advantage of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in building a global technological innovation hub is that it has the technological innovation elements of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao at the same time. This provides a fertile ground for technological innovation.
△China Spallation Neutron Source in Songshan Lake Science City, Dongguan, Guangdong
The Greater Bay Area will further promote the construction of major cooperation platforms such as Hengqin, Qianhai, Nansha and Hetao, build Guangming Science City and Nansha Science City, and promote high-level coordinated development of scientific and technological innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. World-class major scientific and technological infrastructure and high-end scientific research resource clusters are accelerating to take shape in the Greater Bay Area.
In 2023, the import and export of the nine mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be 7.95 trillion yuan, accounting for 19% of the country's total import and export value. Among them, the import and export of high-tech products is a prominent highlight of the Greater Bay Area, demonstrating its outstanding advantages in technological research and development and industrial innovation.
The patent capability of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ranks first among the four major bay areas in the world. With the in-depth reconstruction of the global industrial and technological landscape, the Greater Bay Area has become the forefront of global technological competition in the fields of electronic information, software, medicine and other fields, and is also an important platform carrier for global technological innovation.
Leading the way to a higher level of opening up to the outside world
In April 2023, during an inspection in Guangdong, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s invitation to the representatives of foreign-funded enterprises present was full of enthusiasm: “The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be one of the most promising growth poles in the world in the future. Welcome to Guangdong. , come to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, come to China, invest and start a business, and create new glory for enterprise development."
Openness is the innate DNA of the Bay Area. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has outstanding geographical advantages. It is not only an important starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, but also a central hub. It is close to the world's first golden waterway and is an important hub for shipping in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It can be reached from the west, east and south. An important economic region in the world.
△Guangzhou Port Nansha Port Area
At present, there is an undercurrent of anti-globalization in the world, and some countries are engaging in so-called decoupling and disconnection, "small courtyards and high walls" and "parallel systems". In the face of world changes, the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has been given a new historical position. General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed to “make the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area a strategic fulcrum for the new development pattern, a demonstration site for high-quality development, and a leader in Chinese-style modernization.”
Institutional opening is a higher level and deeper opening to the outside world.
As one of the regions with the highest degree of openness and the strongest economic vitality in my country, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area plays an important strategic role in the country's overall opening-up and development. Improving the level of openness and creating a high-level open world economy has become a key issue as the economic development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area enters a new stage.
△The Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone will be closed for operation from March 1, and the level of openness of the Greater Bay Area will be further improved.
In recent years, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has attracted global resource elements through the construction of institutions and mechanisms, and has deeply participated in global industrial division of labor and cooperation. Multiple plans for promoting higher-level opening-up have been issued.
In November 2023, at the 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Global Investment Conference held in Guangzhou, 859 investment and trade projects were reached with a total amount of 2.24 trillion yuan. In addition to the 2.5 trillion yuan of investment reached at the first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Global Investment Conference in 2022, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has attracted nearly 5 trillion yuan of investment in these two global investment conferences alone.
It is not difficult to see from these data that the Greater Bay Area has shown a positive outlook of insisting on expanding opening to the outside world and deeply participating in the world economy. World-renowned enterprises are full of confidence in the development prospects of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
△On November 28, 2023, the 24-kilometer-long Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor main line was fully completed.
Both sides of the Pearl River are vast, and the Bay Area has a new atmosphere.
The development practice of the Greater Bay Area fully demonstrates the bright prospects and significant advantages of Chinese-style modernization. Facing the complex and severe external situation and challenges, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area continues the momentum of economic recovery, and the "three-dimensional transportation network" is becoming more and more dense, actively exploring "one thing, three places, one policy, three places, one regulation and three places", and market interconnection It is more smooth and orderly, has more power for technological innovation, and is more proactive in opening up to the outside world. It is accelerating towards the established goal of building a world-class bay area and a world-class city cluster.