10 keywords of Guangdong's achievements on GBA

According to the 2022 Guangdong government work report released on January 20, Guangdong will further develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and pace up the construction of Hengqin and Qianhai cooperation zones. Here are the 10 keywords shedding light on what Guangdong has done to promote GBA development in 2021. Let's take a look!

1. Hengqin & Qianhai

In September, China issued plans to build the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone and develop the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, enriching the practice of "one country, two systems" and helping better play an exemplary leading role in GBA development.

Administrative organizations of Hengqin Zone were inaugurated. The management committee of the cooperation zone is meant to coordinate and make decisions on major planning, policies, projects, as well as on important personnel arrangements of the zone, while the executive committee will be responsible for the management of the zone's economy and people's well-being. Governor of Guangdong Province and the chief executive of the Macao SAR, serve as the directors of the management committee.

The total area of the Qianhai cooperation zone is expanded to 120.56 square km from 14.92 square km. Qianhai will advance the development of the modern service industry, accelerate the reform and innovation of the system and mechanisms for sci-tech development, strive to foster a world-class business environment, and innovate its governance model.

2. National Science Center

On December 11 of 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the Greater Bay Science Forum 2021. "Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou Science and Technology Cluster" ranked second in the Global Innovation Index for two consecutive years.

The construction of Pengcheng Laboratory and Guangzhou Laboratory has been accelerated. The GBA National Technology Innovation Center and the State 5G Medium- and High-frequency Components Innovation Center in Shenzhen have been approved for construction. Five major national scientific and technological infrastructures, including the second phase of the China Spallation Neutron Source (Dongguan), have been approved for deployment, ranking first in the country.

Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have continuously improved their innovation capabilities, created an open and innovative environment, and jointly promoted the construction of a comprehensive national science center in the GBA.

3. GBA Connectivity Initiative

In 2021, Guangdong actively promoted the GBA Connectivity Initiative (Wan Qu Tong) to coordinate the rules of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao.

The "Talent Access" project was implemented, and 402 Hong Kong and Macao physicians obtained physician qualification certificates in the mainland, and 707 Hong Kong and Macao lawyers took part in the Greater Bay Area Lawyer Practice Exam. At present, professionals from Hong Kong and Macao in finance, taxation, construction, planning and cultural tourism, medical care, lawyers, and accounting can enjoy the convenience of cross-boundary practice.

The Guangdong and Macao health codes are mutually recognized, and the connection between the "Guangdong Health Code" and the "Hong Kong Health Code" has been steadily accelerated. The "Medicine and Equipment Connect" pilot program has been launched, and 13 kinds of Hong Kong and Macao drugs and 3 medical devices urgently needed for clinical have been approved in the mainland.

Guangdong's "Social Insurance Link" Program enables residents in three places to participate in insurance conveniently.

Thanks to the GBA Connectivity Initiative, more than 10,000 Hong Kong-funded enterprises can use the simplified version of notary documents for registration. The first batch of 70 "GBA Standards" in 23 fields, including food, traditional Chinese medicine, and transportation, have been settle down.

The management system for using provincial economic research funds in transit through Hong Kong and Macao has been improved. Provincial and municipal financial cross-boundary allocations have exceeded 300 million yuan, benefiting 11 universities and scientific research institutions in Hong Kong and Macao.

4. One Hour Life Circle

In 2021, GBA had accelerated interconnection, aiming to build a modern comprehensive transportation system. The Qingmao Checkpoint linking Macao and Guangdong was put into operation, and the Ganzhou-Shenzhen high-speed railway hit the road. Guangdong has achieved full coverage of high-speed railways in all provinces' cities.

The Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing Expressway opened to traffic, and the construction of the section of Jiangmen to the Pearl River Delta Hub Airport in Zhuhai-Zhaoqing high-speed rail line started. The province has expedited the construction of intercity railways in the GBA like the Guangzhou-Qingyuan intercity railway, the phase III expansion project of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, and the Shenzhen Airport Third Runway Expansion, Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel, and Huangmao Sea Bridge. The project of the Shiziyang Tunnel was approved for construction. The building of a single-ticket passenger service system was promoted.

The travel between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have become more convenient, and the "one-hour living circle" in GBA has been formed.

5. Open economy

In 2021, Guangdong's export and import volume exceeded 8 trillion yuan, up by 16.7%, and the actual use of foreign capital surpassed 180 billion yuan. The strategic emerging industries have attracted the most foreign investors.

385 China-Europe freight trains pulled out from the GBA throughout the year. The number of routes increased to 19, covering 15 countries in Asia and Europe.

As the world's largest offline expo, the 130th Canton Fair attracted 600,000 visitors, about 26,000 Chinese and foreign companies participated online, and purchasers from 228 countries and regions talked business online and offline and competed for orders.

It successfully held the Virtual Tour to the Greater Bay Area for Foreign Businesses in Hong Kong and joined hands with Hong Kong and Macao to hold the GBA Global Conference 2021 in Shanghai.

6. Talent highland

In 2021, Guangdong released a catalog of talents urgently needed in 9 GBA mainland cities to attract high-end and urgently needed talent from home and aboard. Guangzhou Nansha New District established an international special talent zone, China-Singapore Knowledge City built an accessible Port for international talents, and Qianhai International Talent Port in Shenzhen was put into operation in early 2022.

7. Optimizing business environment

Guangdong has further deepened the reforms of separating business permits and licenses, integrating multi-certificates, and reducing the time required to start a business to offer more convenience to businesses and complete the whole procedures online. The average time needed to start a business in the province is just one working day. The approval time for government investment projects can be completed within 100 working days, and social investment projects will be completed within 60 working days.

The province has realized "zero door-to-door visits, zero approval and zero investment" for low-voltage users to run electricity, which has reached the advanced international level. It has implemented the Greater Bay Area integrated logistics reform, such as "Bay Area One Port" mode and the "combined ports," reducing the overall customs clearance cycle by 60%. Besides, it has taken the lead in implementing competition policies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The provincial market supervision bodies have introduced 16 innovative measures to promote the development of the Greater Bay Area. Guangdong and Shenzhen topped the best business environment ranking at the provincial and city level, respectively.

8. HK&Macao Young start-ups

In 2021, Guangdong took multiple measures for Hong Kong and Macao youth to take up employment and start businesses in the province.

It has built a "1+12+N" Hong Kong and Macao youth innovation and entrepreneurship incubation base system, 12 key bases, and 57 unique bases in the Pearl River Delta. Measures on promoting the development of Hong Kong and Macao youth innovation and entrepreneurship bases and supporting the open recruitment of Hong Kong and Macao residents by public institutions in GBA mainland cities were issued.

Guangdong also supported Hong Kong in implementing its Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme and held the Greater Bay Area Job Fair, which provided nearly 100,000 employment and internship positions for Hong Kong and Macao youths. "Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Plan" held a double-selection meeting for employment and internship in GBA mainland cities.

9. Cross-border Wealth Management

GBA has further bolstered the interconnectivity of regional financial markets and the provision of cross-border financial services. Last September, the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect (WMC) Pilot Scheme was launched. The business scale exceeded 200 million yuan in the first month, and 13,000 accounts were opened.

As of the end of December 2021, the WMC had 5,855 transactions, with a total amount of 486 million yuan. Among them, there were 3,802 in the Northbound Track with 196 million yuan and 2,053 in the Southbound Track with an amount of 290 million yuan.

In addition, the Southbound Bond Connect was launched, and IPOs on the science and technology innovation board were listed on Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect. Shenzhen city and Guangdong Province issued offshore RMB local government bonds of 5 billion yuan and 2.2 billion yuan in Hong Kong and Macao, respectively.

10. Improving Air Quality

In 2021, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao further intensified efforts to prevent and control air pollution and promote the coordinated control of delicate particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3).

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Management Plan was thoroughly implemented. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network was enhanced. The regular testing frequency of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) concentration was increased, and the data sharing and analysis between Guangdong and Hong Kong was strengthened.

In 2021, the Pearl River Delta area saw the share of days with good air quality (AQI), and the average concentration of delicate particulate matter (PM2.5) stood at 90.8% and 21μg/m3, respectively. As of November 29, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing ranked in the Top 20 of 168 cities in the country in terms of air quality.