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Greater Bay Area
Hong KongHong Kong economy

Greater Bay Area: Hong Kong leader floats joint policies with Shenzhen to create hi-tech and innovation regional hub

  • Chief executive says Hong Kong has edge in R&D and upstream research, while mainland city excels at technology transfer
  • Neighbour could join forces to attract overseas talent and capital, she suggests

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The border crossing at Shatoujiao in Shenzhen. The city is set to take pole position in the regional development plan. Photo: Bloomberg
Ng Kang-chung
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has suggested joining forces with Shenzhen authorities to lure overseas talent and investors under a “joint policy package” aimed at creating a regional hi-tech and innovation hub.
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Closer cooperation would allow Hong Kong to better use its unique position under the “one country, two systems” policy, she told local Chinese media, as she rejected concerns the financial hub could be swallowed up by its mainland neighbour as the Greater Bay Area vision for southern China became a reality.

Lam is expected to fly to Beijing later this month to lobby support from ministers for policies aimed at reviving Hong Kong’s economy, which has been hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Communist Party elites are preparing for the fifth plenum which will chart the nation’s political and economic direction for the five years, with the meeting to run from next Monday to Thursday.

Lam said closer cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen would lead to “a synergy by which one plus one will be greater than two”.

In hi-tech development, Hong Kong had an edge in R&D and upstream research, while Shenzhen excelled at technology transfer, allowing ideas to mature into new products, she said.

She raised the idea of a “joint policy package”, listing the advantages of each city in attracting overseas talent.

“[We] join forces to roll out our best to attract talent and capital, so that Shenzhen and Hong Kong can make contributions to the Greater Bay Area strategy,” Lam was quoted as saying by Wen Wei Po on Monday. “If we succeed, we can radiate [the success] to other parts of the Greater Bay Area.”

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