Opinion | Center of Bay Area: How Guangzhou Nansha promotes deep integration of Guangdong and Hong Kong

By Lee Chun Ting

Early in February, a group headed by Leung Chun-ying, Vice Chair of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), traveled to Nansha, Guangzhou, for two days. As of February 2019, when the "Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" was unveiled, Nansha District has been selected as a demonstration zone for comprehensive collaboration between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. In order to achieve this, Hong Kong and Macao must work together to build a high-level opening gateway to the world, a demonstration area for innovation and development, a crucial platform for financial services, and a quality living space. The State Council established Nansha as a demonstration zone for comprehensive cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao in June 2022 when it released the "Overall Plan for Guangzhou Nansha to Deepen Comprehensive Cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao for the World." The goal of this is to better fulfill its role as a leader and driving force in the creation of the Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao Greater Bay Area by creating a significant strategic platform based on the Bay Area, cooperating with Hong Kong and Macao, and aiming at the world.

Guangzhou Nansha, which is situated in the geographical center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, is a crucial hub for connecting cities on both sides of the Pearl River Estuary with Hong Kong and Macao. Nansha has implemented a number of reforms and policy changes to increase its accessibility and solidify its linkages to the rest of its territory in order to further collaborate with its surrounding places.

Innovation in the work system

The Guangzhou Nansha Guangdong-Hong Kong Co-operation Advisory Committee (the Advisory Committee) was established by the Guangzhou Nansha Municipal Government in April 2021 to promote and advance collaboration between Guangdong and Hong Kong. The committee is chaired by Mr. Leung Chun-ying, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Taking into consideration the well-established working procedures of advisory committees in Hong Kong, appointed members from both Guangdong and Hong Kong were selected for the Advisory Committee.

An efficient forum for cooperation and communication between Nansha and Hong Kong is the Advisory Committee. It has supported a number of significant projects through dialogue and reciprocal communication, including schools for the children of Hong Kong residents, an internationalized community in the vein of Hong Kong, and a cross-border data link. Furthermore, it has offered beneficial guidelines and rules in a variety of industries.

Business environment reform

In China, Guangzhou Nansha has established a model for commercial service that is innovative. First, it was the first area to transition commercial registration from administrative licensing to administrative confirmation. Next, a thorough reform of administrative law enforcement has been implemented throughout the district, combining over 4,600 authorities into 21 different domains and employing a team-based approach to law enforcement. Additionally, the "building before inspection" model has been adopted by the whole construction sector, offering a system that enables certificates to be received in the morning and work to begin in the afternoon. In addition, Nansha District has prompted the creation of a data query certification verification system and the introduction of a data query implementation rule that requires "no proof of free trade zone." With access to 500 types of data themes enabled and 1.5 billion data available, this has created data sharing channels with 34 departments including taxation, market collecting and management, and human resources. The standards for certification have drastically been lowered because to this institutional and technological help.

High level of financial sector opening

When it comes to financial liberalization, Guangzhou is one of the highest-level pilot projects in China, with a cross-border trade and investment business scale of over $10 billion. The amount of cross-border RMB settlement has surpassed 600 billion yuan over the last three years, with an average annual growth rate of 16.8%. More than 450 domestic and international businesses have benefited from the establishment of more than 6,000 foreign exchange (FX) accounts. The International Finance Forum (IFF), the Guangzhou Futures Exchange, and the SSE Capital Market Service Base have also opted to establish themselves in NanSha, which has fueled the growth of numerous elite financial platforms.

Provide lucrative protection for Hong Kong people to work in Nansha

There would be no adjustments to the personal income tax obligations of Hong Kong and Macao residents who work in Guangzhou Nansha. A 1 billion Hong Kong and Macao youth venture fund has been allocated to 215 teams as part of the Chuang Hui Valley platform, which was established to encourage youth employment and entrepreneurship. This platform also recognizes certification credentials, allowing for the employment of people from Hong Kong and Macao as civil workers and access to Hong Kong educational resources, such as the People's Heart School for Hong Kong People's Children.

There are other international programs available for applicants at the secondary school level, including the British GCE (AS & AL), the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), and the future IBMDP program. Students may apply to universities in Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China, or abroad based on their examination results after successfully completing the senior secondary DSE program or other foreign programs.

Since the late 1980s, Mr. Fok Ying Tung has suggested the development of Nansha and has constructed more than 30 high-quality projects, including the Nansha Passenger Port, the Fok Ying Tung Research Institute, and the Information Technology Park at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. With a total investment of more than US$125 billion, Nansha has currently attracted about 4,000 businesses from Hong Kong and Macao.

The GDP of Nansha District is projected to reach 202.258 billion RMB in 2022, an increase of 5.7% in nominal terms and 4.2% in real terms compared to 2021. This elevates its standing among the Guangzhou cities.

In its 2023 Municipal Government Work Report, the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government has devoted a whole chapter to advancing reform and extending opening-up efforts in Nansha under the motto "facing the world, benchmarking with the first-class," ranking it third among the nine essential tasks.

As the "heart of the Bay Area, the open gateway, and the city of the future," Nansha continues to work toward this goal. As a result, the environment provides several benefits, including tax exemption for Hong Kong and Macao residents working in Nansha, a pilot project for entrepreneurship and employment of young people from Hong Kong and Macao, and access to high-quality education resources from Hong Kong, as well as technical and institutional assistance to decrease the need for certification.

Lee Chun Ting, born and raised in Hong Kong, is currently a PhD candidate at the School of Marxism of Tsinghua University and Vice-President of Hong Kong Commerce & Industry Association of Youth Entrepreneurs Federation Limited. His main research interests are Marxist theory, Chinese Communist Party and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

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