Sara Afzal
How One Country, Two Systems poised Hong Kong as world’s financial and trade hub
July 1 of 2022 witnesses the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Over the years, the implementation of “One Country, Two Systems” has enabled Hong Kong to fight off challenges and maintain its status as the world’s financial and trade hub. Meanwhile, a set of economic and administrative measures have been rolled out in past few years to consolidate the city’s economically advantageous position.
July 1 of 2022 witnesses the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Over the years, the implementation of “One Country, Two Systems” has enabled Hong Kong to fight off challenges and maintain its status as the world’s financial and trade hub. Meanwhile, a set of economic and administrative measures have been rolled out in past few years to consolidate the city’s economically advantageous position.
In order to facilitate its integration into the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, has reached an agreement with the neighboring Guangdong Province and Macao Special Administrative Region on setting up a cooperation mechanism. This Greater Bay Area (GBA) plan was unveiled in 2017. Five years on, it has poised Hong Kong as an international metropolis playing a vital role in taking the whole area forward.
Hong Kong’s stability, prosperity and opportunity hinges upon how well the city integrates into the “national development,” and more specifically, the GBA. The agreement lays out an outline guiding the development of the GBA, covers the period from 2017 to 2022 in the immediate term and extends to 2035 in the long term. On the broad term, the GBA by 2022 was expected to be an international first-class bay area and world-class city cluster, which is vibrant and highly innovative with an optimized industrial structure, where a smooth flow of various factors and a pleasant ecological environment should essentially be formed. This is indeed happening in the area.
In 2021, the GDP of the whole bay area reached 12.6 trillion Chinese yuan ($1.9 trillion) and with regional cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Foshan and Dongguan performing well in economic development – all five cities passing the annual GDP threshold of one trillion Chinese yuan（0.15 trillion $）the co-operation among GBA members is now deepened and regional developments raised to a new level.
With the rapid economic growth, the GBA also experienced unprecedented urban expansions. In the past few years, the total area has expanded to around 56,000 square kilometers. Due to its industrial strength, advanced infrastructure, and vast human resources, the GBA is now an ideal place for implementing smart city solutions – a “one-hour living circle” with excellent public services has been successfully established. Of course, rapid urban growth has brought about severe environmental and air pollution, but concrete measures have been taken to mitigate the consequence. For instance, a memorandum of co-operation was signed in November 2018 by relevant institutions and universities in the area to promote an application of retro-commissioning of buildings for enhancing energy saving. Moreover, on April 29, 2020, the China Meteorological Administration promulgated a plan for the GBA (2020-2035) to further strengthen meteorological co-operation among cites in the area. This includes sharing of data, research and innovation, and training of meteorological personnel. Such co-operation would undoubtedly help enhance the meteorological services. With a view to striving for greater convenience for Hong Kong people’s studying, working and living in the GBA, the HKSAR government and its counterparts in the region are making joint efforts to turn the city cluster into a quality living circle. This is conducive to those who wish to seize the opportunities brought about by this key national development strategy.
The Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme launched in 2021 has attracted young Hong Kong people to work and pursue their careers in Chinese mainland cities. The scheme is part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s efforts to contribute to national development. This Employment Scheme offers 2,000 job positions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The Hong Kong youths who have earned a bachelor’s degree or above are eligible for the scheme. And they are guaranteed a minimum monthly salary of 18,000 Hong Kong dollars ($2,000).
According to the latest survey by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, 64 percent of respondents are willing to join Greater Bay Area-based work experience programs or internships. The most attractive factors to these youths are career prospects, market size, social networking and training opportunities, the percentage of which stood respectively at 84.1 percent, 84 percent, 70.7 percent and 70.4 percent.
Exposure to both Western and Eastern culture has given young Hong Kong people an advantage in securing new jobs or starting their own businesses in the open and economically vibrant region of the Greater Bay Area. Through leveraging Hong Kong’s unique strengths under “One Country, Two Systems” and the unwavering support of the central government, Hong Kong is set to usher in a brighter future in the next quarter of the century.
