Gu Shengzu: Constructing a new quadruple-city setup to facilitate innovation development

Commenting on the key national development plan, Gu Shengzu, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Executive Vice Chairman of China National Democratic Construction Association, pointed out the essence of three bay areas around the world: New York is financial; San Francisco is technological, while Tokyo is characterized by manufacturing. Unlike these three bay areas, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area comes with Hong Kong, an international financial hub, as well as Shenzhen, the “Silicon Valley of China”. As such, it is an integrated bay area that enjoys all the features of fintech and manufacturing. He reckoned that effective integration of the creative resources of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and other cities is critical for actualizing more synergized innovation and focused development in the region. These, in turn, will facilitate the Bay Area in becoming a first-class innovative economy bay area in the world.

According to Gu, construction of the Bay Area must ride on the basis of one country and leverage the convenience of two systems. This would help shape the most dynamic international technology innovation hub with the most concentrated innovation resources, the most effective conversion of innovation outcomes, the most flexible innovation systems and the most comprehensive innovation ecology. He suggested building an international innovation corridor for Guangdong, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau, which could serve as the innovation platform for generating various outcome conversion. The new quadruple setup for innovation development will promote development of innovative initiatives, bring industries together, connect spaces and functionally complement every party. He also pointed out that that ecological development of the new economy should be promoted; Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau could collaborate as upstream and downstream partners in the discipline of innovation; a complete innovation industrial chain could be established; and a good entrepreneurial innovation ecology could be created to materialize the goal of “blooming in Hong Kong and Macau, bearing fruits in the Mainland”.

The deepened integration of finance and technology is especially critical in the development of the Bay Area. Gu stressed that it is imperative to propel interconnectivity of the financial market, to drive reform in the Hong Kong and Shenzhen capital markets, and to deepen the function of the bay area as a financial system to support the development of the new economy. He hoped to speed up the pace at which talents could roam freely in the bay area, so that convenient movements for talents, goods, and capital in the Bay Area can be materialized. He encouraged young people in Hong Kong and Macau to get involved with the construction of the Bay Area. He believed that various convenience initiatives should be rolled out to attract talents.