Zhuhai emerges as a leader in region's economic growth

Coastal city is only mainland area with road links to Hong Kong and Macao

Zhuhai, a coastal city in South China's Guangdong province, is forging ahead to contribute to the economic and social development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a regional gateway, local officials and experts said.

The Bay Area program is a new attempt to promote opening-up and implement the "one country, two systems" policy, Guo Yonghang, Party secretary of Zhuhai, told Nanfang Daily earlier this year.

In the nation's master plan for developing the Bay Area, Zhuhai has been mentioned 20 times, showing its important role and new opportunity in the coming years, he said.

Guo added the city has seen a historic change in its geographic position.

After the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge opened in October 2018, Zhuhai became the only city on the Chinese mainland with bridge links to both Hong Kong and Macao. That distinction will allow Zhuhai to be a base for innovative companies, talent, capital, technology and culture - the basis for continuous vitality of a city, he said.

While building a high-standard transport hub, Zhuhai will further promote high-quality development of its coastal economy and make itself an important gateway of the Greater Bay Area, Guo said.

Du Manchang, associate professor of Zhuhai Party School, told Zhuhai Special Zone Daily that the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge significantly shortens travel time, which will not only attract more tourists to Zhuhai but also boost the cooperation between the city and Hong Kong and Macao.

It now only takes 30 minutes to drive from Zhuhai to Hong Kong, compared with three hours of driving before. A new customs clearance procedure also saves time for cargo flow, according to the local government.

The city has participated in the development of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Technological Innovation Corridor. It has built multiple innovative platforms, such as the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park, the Hengqin Science City and the Hengqin-Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Valley.

Zhuhai encourages regional exchanges of tech talent, research fund and commercialization of research results, on the way to building itself into an international scientific innovation center, according to the local government.

The city is also developing provincial or national-level laboratories, such as a southern maritime science and engineering laboratory. It has cooperated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to build an intelligent computing center to innovate chips' design and inspection that will back artificial intelligence development.

Emerging industries, such as information technology, advanced equipment manufacturing, biological medicine, new energy vehicles, digital innovation and new materials, are also highlighted.

As the host city for major international and national conventions and exhibitions like the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, the China-Israel Investment Summit and China-LAC Business Summit, the city expects to further improve its modern services industry and attract more projects that support regional economy.

Officials said Zhuhai will also learn to integrate its advanced manufacturing industry with the modern services industry in Hong Kong and Macao, to improve the city's commerce, tourism, logistics, finance and other service-related industries. Cultural, agricultural and sports exchanges, such as sailing, tennis, car racing and organic agriculture, are also in the pipeline.

To better serve Hong Kong and Macao's residents who live and work in Zhuhai, the city gives them the same rights in house purchases, children' education and medical care in the Hengqin New Area - a pilot area in Zhuhai for its cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao - as Zhuhai's residents.

Liang Junjie, vice-president for market research and development at Hong Kong-Macao Intelligent City (Hengqin) Project Development Co, told local media that he was impressed by the high efficiency of the local government.

"Many of our projects involve affairs that need approvals from the government. Every department is helping us simplify the procedures and expedite the approval period, which saves a lot of time," he said.