THE country Monday unveiled the outline development plan for the Guangdong -Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Both the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) pledged to seize the opportunities and further integrate into the development of the area. Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam expressed gratitude to the Central Government for placing importance on the HKSAR Government’s views in the process of drafting the plan, which sets out the directions guiding the Greater Bay Area’s development. A HKSAR Government spokesperson described the plan as “a major development strategy in the country’s reform and opening up in the new era.” The spokesperson said that the development of the Greater Bay Area will bring Hong Kong opportunities in two aspects, namely helping Hong Kong find new drivers for economic growth and advance the diversified development of local economy and industries, as well as expand the living and development space of Hong Kong residents. Also, Chief Executive of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Chui Sai said Monday night that Macao is ready to further integrate into the national development plan and assume its own responsibilities. The Macao SAR is willing to deepen cooperation with other cities in the Greater Bay Area and make its own contributions to the national strategic development, so as to achieve greater success in terms of integration into national development, Chui said. As for organizations, scholars and businessmen in Hong Kong, they said Monday the development of the Greater Bay Area will help the city to exert its advantages and develop complementarily with other cities in the area. The Hong Kong society have been longing for this blueprint as it offers guidance on how to exert Hong Kong’s advantages, said Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress. The Greater Bay Area provides a much larger stage for Hong Kong’s development, he said, adding that with greater connectivity between the cities in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong can better interact with other cities and give a full play to its advantages in areas such as finance and scientific innovation. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said in a statement released Monday evening that with the development of financial services as a major element, the outline development plan supports consolidating Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center, a global offshore Renminbi business hub, an international asset management center as well as a risk management center. Witman Hung, who has been working for years as a liaison officer between Hong Kong and Shenzhen on modern service industry cooperation, said that with “developing an international innovation and technology hub” as one of its priorities, the Greater Bay Area will provide a conducive environment for Hong Kong’s scientific innovative industry. (Xinhua) |