Generally speaking, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area covers eleven cities, including two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and nine cities in the Pearl River Delta: Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou, Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen, Zhongshan and Zhuhai. Greater Bay Area has a total area of 56,000 square kilometers, a total population of 68 million and a population density of 988.73 people per square kilometer. Greater Bay Area's total economic output is nearly US$ 2 trillion, ranking fourth in the world in Greater Bay Area, second only to new york Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area and Tokyo Bay Area.
Domestically, Greater Bay Area is not only the pioneer of regional economic and social development in China, but also the core driving force of sustainable economic and social development in China. Internationally, the overall development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is approaching the forefront of the world. The internationalization level of core cities such as Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen and Guangzhou has reached or approached the world-class level, and its attraction to modern economic and social development factors such as high-end talents, precision technology, transnational capital and headquarters economy is increasing day by day. However, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is also facing new challenges and opportunities:
1 Challenges facing Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the new era
At the beginning of the cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the hinterland of Guangdong was extremely backward, while Europe and the United States were highly developed, which created conditions for Hong Kong and Macao to play the role of "transit station" and "middleman". However, the cooperative development of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in the past 40 years has shown two distinct characteristics: one is the continuous expansion of regional differentiation, and the other is the increasing trend of homogenization competition in core cities. On the one hand, there is still a huge gap between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, which are one step ahead, and the central and western regions, and the development gap between different cities in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is also huge, and the trend of urban-rural polarization has not been fundamentally reversed.
On the other hand, the convergence between core cities leads to more competition and cooperation, and even leads to disputes about who is the dominant city. There are more and more disputes between the two places, which is obviously not conducive to the in-depth cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. In the new era, the sustainable development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is facing the competition from other high-speed growth areas in China and the market constraints of the sustained economic downturn in developed areas in Europe and America, so the traditional cooperative development model is no longer feasible. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which has developed to a certain height, has to work hard to further deepen the division of labor under the background of two-way competition at home and abroad. On the one hand, we gain competitive advantage in higher-value links, on the other hand, we expand the market scale and seek new cooperation and development space.
2? Opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative to Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
In the post-globalization era, with the rise of local protectionism and nationalism, the globalization process has begun to encounter obstacles, and the global division of labor system and governance order are facing new changes. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which takes opening as its lifeline, must conform to the situation, integrate regional forces and better promote the process of globalization and regional integration with a new attitude. The Belt and Road Initiative is an important measure for China to actively reshape the global governance system and seek global sustainable development.
The 40-year experience of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao proves the importance of open cooperation to regional prosperity. The Pearl River Delta (PRD) has moved from closed to open cooperation and closely integrated with the international market, and its growth is closely related to the world environment. The evolution of international market division of labor has created conditions for the development of the Pearl River Delta. The open, young and inclusive Pearl River Delta has seized this opportunity. By actively integrating into the international market and undertaking international industrial transfer, its own industrial system is gradually established and developed, the regional division of labor system is gradually improved, and the degree of regional integration and development is constantly improved, which is also the key to Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's leap-forward development in the future.
With the change of resource endowment and development environment at home and abroad, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area should focus on the evolution of world division of labor, change its development strategy in time, seize the opportunities, give play to its local comparative advantages, and strive to occupy a more favorable position in the world division of labor system. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China has made remarkable achievements in the economic field. However, at the same time of rapid economic growth, exogenous growth mode is deeply rooted, resources are extensively used, environmental pollution is intensified, and regional differentiation is serious. With the gradual consumption of the current system dividend and demographic dividend, the downward pressure on the economy has increased.
In order to realize the sustainable development of economy and society, at home, China needs to further deepen the reform, strengthen the institutional system and realize the modernization of governance; Externally, China needs to shoulder more responsibilities as a big country, cope with the rising conservatism and shrinking globalization, balance the international order, and promote the sustainable and peaceful development of the world, especially the interconnection of developing countries. Under the background of China's internal economic transformation and the sudden increase of external international pressure, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was promoted as one of the national strategies in the work report of the Prime Minister's government.
It coincides with the "Belt and Road Initiative" from theory to practice, which provides an excellent historical opportunity for the deep integration of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has the ability and more necessity to actively integrate into the overall national development strategy, seek a new balance between internal development and opening up, and achieve sustainable development.