Hong Kong need not fear competition with its Pearl River rivals
- A proposed high-speed rail link between Zhuhai and Shenzhen has raised concern in the wake of the recently opened mega bridge, but further integration can only be a good thing
The blueprint for southern China’s “Greater Bay Area” will be released within days, but the fundamentals have been articulated by officials.
At its heart is creating an international innovation and technology powerhouse through improving connectivity between 11 cities.
Success depends on integration and ensuring easy flows of people, goods, capital and information. Concern by some in Hong Kong that a bridge and high-speed rail link proposed between Zhuhai and Shenzhen are not in the city’s interests therefore shows a lack of understanding about the development plan and its goals.
Zhuhai officials recently announced the proposal, which envisages a 46.5km bridge across the Pearl River estuary to the booming financial hub of Qianhai on Shenzhen’s west coast.
Should it win financial approval and be built, travelling times would be slashed from two hours to 30 minutes. But the idea does not sit easily with those in Hong Kong who see it as competition to the 55km bridge and tunnel system between the city, Macau and Zhuhai that opened on October 24.
Given the Hong Kong section cost at least HK$120 billion and critics contend that the government’s projection of 14,000 vehicles a day is excessively ambitious, any suggestion of competition is bound to worry some Hongkongers.
Civic Party lawmaker Jeremy Tam Man-ho, the vice-chairman of the Legislative Council’s panel on transport, is among them; he believes Zhuhai’s plan is about competition and Hong Kong should consequently reassess its relationship with cities in the Greater Bay Area. He misses the point.
Zhuhai plan for Shenzhen bridge sparks warning of intercity rivalry
The bridge to Macau and Zhuhai, like the high-speed rail line, is about improving cross-border connectivity to the mainland, not getting one over on others in the region. Every new road, bridge, tunnel or railway should be welcomed as it will improve movement of people and goods.
Those flows are a fundamental feature of the bay area plan, enabling each city to better tap and share one another’s resources. For Hong Kong, such resources include talent, land, research and development capabilities, labour and capital.
That will boost the city’s pillar industries and also enhance and encourage burgeoning sectors such as innovation and technology, creative businesses, legal and dispute resolution services and higher education.
The more interaction there is, the greater improvement there will be to economies and, in consequence, to lives and livelihoods.
There are challenges, competition between the Pearl River cities among them. But competitiveness is inevitable and good; it spurs innovation and creativity.
Instead of worrying about rivalry, we should be working to lower barriers and thinking of ways to better integrate with neighbouring cities.
