SCIO briefing on the outline development plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 1, 2019
Lin Shaochun:
As far as I know, scientific and technological innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is not only a necessity to lead economic development, but also for strengthening areas of weakness. The Greater Bay Area covers an area of 56,000 square kilometers, has a population of more than 70 million, and an aggregate economy now valued at more than US$1.5 trillion.
Compared with other bay areas in the world, such as the San Francisco Bay Area, there are shortcomings in our technological innovation. Key laboratories and scientific and technological institutions in Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley and the University of California are highly developed. The Tokyo Bay Area, where the University of Tokyo is located, is also home to many Nobel Prize winners.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area enjoys special favors from nature, and has a large population, an industrial system complete with all necessary departments, and a very well-developed manufacturing sector. From a strategic perspective, the central government has put science and technology in first place to lead local development, which is, I think, very much to the point.
Guangdong still has a long way to go, and I would like to explain this point in more detail. While implementing central government decisions, the province will promote the establishment and improvement of cross-border scientific research cooperation systems. Guangdong has its own advantages, as do Hong Kong and Macao. Guangdong's advantages include a complete range of scientific research and industrial application systems, which can pool resources to get the big jobs done. The advantages of Hong Kong and Macao's include high-end scientific research forces and high-level internationalization and marketization. So, how can we combine the advantages of all partners?
First, we will establish a cooperative mechanism to bring the various advantages into full play. We will organize and guide all the major enterprises, research institutes and universities in the Greater Bay Area to deepen their basic and applied basic research, and to participate in the key projects launched in Guangdong. According to General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions to Guangdong, the projects will cover nine aspects – generation of new information technology, equipment manufacturing, biomedicine, a green low carbon approach in development, the digital economy, new materials, the marine economy, engineering technology and seedling industry of modern agriculture.
Second, we will work in close cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao to build a science and technology innovation corridor linking Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao. The project will focus on accelerating the building of the necessary technological infrastructure and frontier subject research platforms. At the same time, we will build the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, the Nansha-Qingsheng Science and Technology Industrial Park, and Hengqin Traditional Chinese Medicine Industrial Park as the bases to speed up the commercialization of R&D achievements.
Third, we will explore ways to strengthen resource sharing and promote the exchanges of innovative elements. We will no longer impose restrictions on financial research funds in Guangdong. That means financial funds in Guangdong to support scientific research can be used across the border to Hong Kong and Macao. Moreover, scientific research institutions and laboratories in Guangdong will be fully open to Hong Kong and Macao compatriots. If Hong Kong and Macao universities and research institutes need to use the equipment in Guangdong, they can simply apply. For example, Dongguan's spallation neutron source will be fully open to research institutions from Hong Kong and Macao.
In the next step, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, we will further strengthen communication with Hong Kong and Macao, and do more research on supportive policies and measures in scientific and technological innovation. Thank you.
Matthew Cheung Kin-chung:
Hong Kong possesses world-class universities, a strong research capacity, a sound judicial system and intellectual property rights protection system. Hong Kong can make use of its international business environment to pool resources from the mainland and other parts of the world. While attracting international innovation enterprises into the Greater Bay Area, we will also help mainland technology start-ups to "go global," in an effort to promote the development of an international innovation and technology hub. This HKSAR government attaches great importance to innovation and technology, and has earmarked HK $100 billion, or 86.1 billion yuan, for this work. Hong Kong is ready to play an important role in building the Greater Bay Area into an international innovation and technology hub. The HKSAR government sincerely thanks the Central Government for supporting Hong Kong's development of innovation and technology. In the instructions made by President Xi Jinping last May, he said that Hong Kong has a strong science and technology foundation and a large group of high-tech talents; and he praised the contributions made by the Hong Kong sci-tech community to the development of the SAR and the country. He also affirmed support for Hong Kong's development as an international innovation and technology hub. In the past year, the Central Government introduced a number of concrete measures to support Hong Kong, including cross-border allocation of national research foundations, and the decision to set up schools and institutions affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as placing some of its research institutes at the two innovation and technology platforms established in the Hong Kong Science Park.
Looking ahead, we will intensify our efforts to promote the development of an international innovation and technology hub. The following are the specific measures: first, to support the development of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop; second, to establish a base for research and cooperation by attracting first-class Chinese and foreign companies, research institutes and universities; third, to actively advance the establishment of two innovation and technology platforms on "medical technologies" and "AI & robots" in the Hong Kong Science Park. Our efforts to encourage technological innovation focus on four sectors, namely: biotechnology, AI, smart city and FinTech. The HKSAR government will continue to develop the necessary innovation and technology infrastructure, attract talents, facilitate R&D and promote "re-industrialization," and increase support for the scientific community. I would like to emphasize that the past year has seen remarkable improvement in the innovation environment of Hong Kong. Thank you.
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