Huge
Development Potential
in
the Pan-Pearl River Delta
OVER the past two decades the Pearl River Delta has become one of China's most dynamic economic areas. Guangdong's GDP has consistently surpassed that of all other provinces, its direct foreign investment has been the highest nationally for 15 years and in 2003 the State Statistics Bureau confirmed that Guangdong's 108 industrial product output was highest of the country's 524.
In recent years eight provinces and one autonomous region in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) have been in active economic and commercial cooperation. Relevant reports show that between 1995 and 2000 Guangdong signed economic and technological cooperation agreements with its eight PPRD participants involving more than 10,000 cooperative projects worth 600 billion yuan.
Economic and trade cooperation between the nine provinces/autonomous region and Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions is also brisk. In 2003, total trade volume between the two SARs and the nine inland PPRD participants amounted to US $65.1 billion, representing 72 percent of total trade between the inland and the two SARs. In the same period, the nine inland localities absorbed US $7.8 billion in direct investment from Hong Kong and Macao, accounting for 43 percent of the inland total. Vice Minister of Commerce An Min pointed out that geographical advantages of the nine inland localities in the Pan-Pearl River Delta are evidenced by their active cooperation with the two SARs.
The Pan-Pearl River Delta (9 inland localities + 2 SARs) accounts for one-fifth of the national territory and one-third of the national GDP. Its population is equal to that of the EU. Close cooperation has evolved as a result of development trends in the region and reflects the projected essence of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Economic Sphere as proposed a year ago by Zhang Dejiang, secretary of CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee. Zhang suggested that Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao enlarge their scale of strategic economic integration in southern China to include the South and Southwest. The resultant stronger functional advantages and consolidated comprehensive strength constitute an engine for China's economic boom. The Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation will set an example for regional economic cooperation within China and around the world.