The Greater Bay Area and the Role of Hong Kong and Macau SARs in the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

Mainland China, the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of China are involved in the global projects called the Belt and Road Initiative and the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Finance, economy and infrastructure are at the forefront of Hong Kong’s sectors. Its financial system is well regulated in many areas.

The urban population of the GBA is growing, and with the development of the Belt and Road Initiative many cities in the Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Macau triangle will be linked. Hong Kong, since decades is the world’s freest economy, see the 2019 index of economic freedom, and Macau is also a free economy. Hong Kong has a key role—already fully implemented by President Xi Jinping and Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam—for the development of the Greater Bay Area which became promoted with the symbolic and quite extraordinary new giant bridge linking Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau (Macau, Ponte HK-Zhuhai-Macau, Serie IV, Nr 63, 2018). Already Hong Kong and Shenzhen have merged into one block virtually separated only by the law until 2047. Similar interconnections link Macau and Zhuhai. The Hong Kong Basic Law does not allow the fusion of the two cities, but now the name Greater Bay Area links them and had changed something. It shows the beginning of a future fusion out of the legal system. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is one of the most important factors of economic and financial development of China’s globalization. Certainly, the Greater Bay Area will contribute to the development of the Belt and Road Initiative in the future. The major function of the Greater Bay Area is to expand the role of Hong Kong, Macau and the Province of Guangdong to develop the Belt and Road Initiative; this was clearly mentioned by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. Macau is a historical tourist center and was before 2014 the first casino city of the world.

Annex: Names of SOEs in Guangdong Province

The following SOEs are present among others in Guangdong Province: Air China 中國國航, Bank of China 中國銀行, Bank of Communications交通銀行, China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) 中国航空器材集团公司, China Citic Bank 中信銀行, China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited 中国远洋海运集, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. (CGNPC) 中国广核集团, China National Aviation Fuel Group Corporation (CNAF) 中国航空油料集团公司, China Railway Engineering Corporation Group (CRECG) 中国铁路工程总公司, China Railway Group 中國中铁, China Railway Signal & Communication Corporation (CRSC) 中国铁路通信信号集团公司, China Southern Air Holding Company (CSAH) 中国南方航空集团公司, China TravelSky Holding Company (TravelSky) 中国民航信息集团公司, China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom) 中国电信集团公, Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) 中国东方电气集团, Guangdong Heng Jian Investment Holding (Local Government-dependant) 广东恒健投资控股, Guangdong Investment 粤海投资, Guangdong Provincial Communication Group (Local Government-dependant) 广东省交通团, Rising Asset Management 广东省广晟资产经营 (Local Government-dependant), Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group 广州汽车通团, Guangzhou Shipyard International 广州广船国际股份集团, Guangzhou Zhujiang Brewery Group 广州珠江啤酒, Industrial Bank (Local Government-dependant) 广州广船 国际股份集团, Rising Nonferrous Metals Share (Local Government-dependant) 广晟有色, Shaoguan Iron and Steel Group (49 percent) (Local Government-dependant) 中国韶关铁钢集团, Zhongjin Lingnan (36.04 percent) (local Government-dependant) 中金嶺南 (SOE List n.d.).