Dr Jonathan CHOI Koon-shum (Chairman of the 53rd terms of office) November 2023
We are pleased to see the HKSAR Government expending such great effort to promote the Northern Metropolis and the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone and to accelerate coordinated development with Shenzhen, which will contribute significantly to the Greater Bay Area’s transformation into a regional hub of scientific and technological innovation for industries with a global influence.
The Policy Address announced by the Chief Executive last month, the second during his tenure, is characterized by its comprehensiveness and pragmatic nature, two hallmarks of effective governance. Notably, the Address proposed elaborate measures to propel the all-round development of the Northern Metropolis, an important node that is not only key to Hong Kong’s integration into the country’s development, but is also expected to bring new opportunities for the future growth of Hong Kong’s economy and business sectors.
Strengthening Hong Kong-Shenzhen interaction in I&T
An important item introduced in the Policy Address is the Northern Metropolis Action Agenda, which aims at achieving deep integration with the planning of Shenzhen and other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area). Under the agenda, the Northern Metropolis will be divided into four major zones, namely high-end professional services and logistics hub, innovation and technology (I&T) zone, boundary commerce and industry zone, and blue and green recreation, tourism and conservation circle.
We are pleased to see the HKSAR Government expending such great effort to promote the Northern Metropolis and the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone and to accelerate coordinated development with Shenzhen, which will contribute significantly to the Greater Bay Area’s transformation into a regional hub of scientific and technological innovation for industries with a global influence.
The Policy Address also proposed building the Northern Metropolis University Town, where partnerships between local post-secondary institutions and prestigious schools from the Mainland and abroad will be promoted. This initiative will be conducive to the internationalized and industrialized development of Hong Kong’s tertiary education in the long haul.
We hope that in addition to continuously enhancing the quality of the city’s tertiary institutions, the HKSAR Government will allocate more resources to promote greater interaction between universities and the I&T sectors in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and the formation of an I&T ecosystem and industrial chain in the region.
Promoting infrastructure development in the Boundary Control Points Economic Belt
Under the Northern Metropolis Action Agenda, boundary commerce and green industries are also focus areas. To facilitate the provision of cross-boundary services within the Greater Bay Area, the HKSAR Government is currently liaising with the Guangdong Province to adopt an “early and pilot implementation” approach in the Greater Bay Area to streamline the compliance arrangements for the flow of personal data from the Mainland to Hong Kong. We are eager to see the governments of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangdong Province work together to strengthen the infrastructure in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Boundary Control Points Economic Belt and cross-border cooperation in various areas to promote industrial diversification.
The Policy Address stressed leveraging market forces to expedite the development of the Northern Metropolis. To achieve better efficiency for the developments of Hetao and the Northern Metropolis, we believe the authorities will need to break away from the traditional procedural framework. For instance, an approach of special arrangements for special circumstances may be adopted with respect to planning, land resumption and environmental impact assessment for the Hong Kong Park in the Hetao Co-operation Zone and the San Tin Technopole. The scale of foreign labor importation may also be enlarged to meet the development timeline and manpower needs.
Deepening financial cooperation with the Greater Bay Area
The Policy Address presented various measures to deepen financial cooperation in the Greater Bay Area, such as expanding the businesses of Hong Kong financial institutions in Qianhai, and co-establishing with the Shenzhen authorities the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Financial Cooperation Committee, which will advise and offer suggestions in respect of bolstering mutual access to the financial markets, among other areas. We believe these measures will further open up the markets in not just the Greater Bay Area but also other parts of the Mainland for Hong Kong’s financial services.
Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government is considering setting up a joint investment fund with the Guangdong Provincial Government and other institutions or corporations to invest in projects in the Greater Bay Area with social and economic benefits. In the long run, this will enhance the competitiveness and economic vitality of the entire region.
In summary, the Greater Bay Area holds the key for Hong Kong to find new areas of economic growth. The elaborate plan proposed by the Policy Address for strengthening cooperation in the Greater Bay Area and speeding up the development of the Northern Metropolis provides a push for Hong Kong’s deeper integration into the Greater Bay Area and the country’s overall development. To this end, the CGCC will mobilize its members and the local business sector to support the policies and measures in the Policy Address, so that Hong Kong can fully dovetail with the development of the Greater Bay Area.
