The 3rd International Academic Conference on Global Bay Area Development Urban Agglomeration and Regional Innovation , jointly organised by Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute (the Institute) of Lingnan University, Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies Sun Yat-sen University（Center for Studies of Hong Kong, Macao and Pearl River Delta）, Academy for Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures, The Education University of Hong Kong, Centre for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Studies, University of Macau, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), is being held in Qianhai, Shenzhen, from the 25th to the 27th of this month. The theme of this year is "Urban Agglomeration and Regional Innovation", which brings together experts and scholars from various organisations and industries in Mainland China and overseas to provide advice and suggestions regarding the future innovative and coordinated development of the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area (hereinafter referred to as "the Greater Bay Area").
Group Photo of Speakers
Professor FU Zhengping, Associate Dean and Professor, Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Sun Yat-sen University, was the moderator of the opening ceremony of the conference. He pointed out that this year is an important point in time for the strategic advancement of the Greater Bay Area, and hoped that participating experts and scholars will deliver their insights for the coordinated development of the Greater Bay Area city clusters in the future. In his speech, Professor HE Junzhi, Professor, Dean of Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Director of the Center for Studies of Hong Kong, Macao and Pearl River Delta, Sun Yat-sen University, recalled the research outputs of the previous conferences, which provided professional discussions on diverse areas covering institutional innovation, cross-boundary exchanges, social integration, and people's livelihood, etc. Prof. HE introduced that this conference would focus on the development of the city clusters and regional innovations, and he wished that participants would continue to make significant contributions to promoting the construction of the Greater Bay Area in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. He urged the participants to continue to contribute their wisdom and strength to promote the development of the Greater Bay Area, so as to facilitate the common prosperity and development of the regional and global economy.
Professor FU Zhengping, Associate Dean and Professor, Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Sun Yat-sen University
Professor HE Junzhi, Professor, Dean of Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Director of the Center for Studies of Hong Kong, Macao and Pearl River Delta, Sun Yat-sen University
Another guest speaker, Mr. WANG Jinxia, Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen, summed up the remarkable achievements of innovation in Qianhai, and put forward the objectives of developing a new type of think tank with Chinese characteristics and building a research base for Hong Kong and Macao in Qianhai. He hoped that on the basis of the current research clusters, there would be a concentration of approximately 100 international and domestic high-end think tanks in the future, so that they could cope with the unprecedented changes of the last hundred years.
Speech by Mr. WANG Jinxia, Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen
The conference is divided into four major forums. Forum 1 focuses on Urban Agglomeration and Innovation Cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and is moderated by Professor HO Lok-sang, Director of Pan Su-Tong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute of Lingnan University, while several experts and scholars delivered their reports on related topics. Professor SHEN Tiyan, Professor of the School of Government, Peking University, put forward a unique proposal for the creation of a world-class mega innovation cluster in the Greater Bay Area. He cited the experience of internationally developed countries such as the United States, Germany and Japan, suggesting that industry clusters are the "codes" for the economic development of the Greater Bay Area, and he also advised that industry clusters in the Greater Bay Area in the future should be supported by modern industrial governance infrastructures, such as new infrastructures and industrial brains, to create a "platform + ecology", and to achieve the integrated development of the "four lives" of business, production, living and ecology.
Forum 1 Urban Agglomeration and Innovation Cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
Professor HO Lok-sang, Director of Pan Su-Tong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute of Lingnan University, moderated the Forum1
In the face of the challenges of global manpower shortage and intensive competition for talents, the guest speaker, Dr. CHOW Man Kong, the Associate Vice President (Institutional Advancement) of The Education University of Hong Kong, proposed to develop Hong Kong as an international education hub and to promote the cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in education. Citing the international education experience of a number of advanced countries or regions, and taking into account Hong Kong's current demographic data and educational advantages as well as the relevant policies, he has shared several policy recommendations, including strengthening education promotion, unleashing the vitality of Hong Kong's tertiary and vocational education resources, relaxing the restriction on the enrolment of non-local students in Hong Kong's primary and secondary schools, laying down a long-term manpower reserve and co-ordinating and perfecting the complementary measures, and fostering a benign ecology of the education industry, etc., with a view to revitalising Hong Kong's education and boosting the momentum of Hong Kong's development. It is hoped that by revitalising Hong Kong's education sector, the momentum of Hong Kong's development will be enhanced, so as to promote Hong Kong's high-quality development, integration into the development of the Greater Bay Area and complementing the development of China.
Dr. CHOW Man Kong, the Associate Vice President (Institutional Advancement) of The Education University of Hong Kong, presented the report.
At the Conference
Another presenter, Professor YE Lin from the School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University, explored the policy direction and logic of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen linkage in his research. He suggested that the positioning of Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the national strategy and their leading role in regional development determine the special nature of their linkage. At the regional level, the significance of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen linkage to regional development lies in optimising the regional development layout and contributing experience to the co-operation and governance of mega-cities, which involves more sharing of governance experience, expanding the policy dividend, and exploring new modes of co-ordinated development in the region. Prof. YE also emphasised the need of promoting policy synergy through institutional innovation; responding to major national strategic needs and enhance the region's international competitiveness through joint platform development; and realising joint policy implementation through institutional reform.
Professor GU Minkang, Professor of The Education University of Hong Kong, and YUE Jun, Deputy Chief Planner, Urban Planning & Design Institute of Shenzhen, as commentators of the Forum, highly appreciated the quality and inspirational nature of the reports and put forward their thoughts and suggestions on cross-boundary data flow and innovation in the coordination between the government and the market in their own professional fields.
Professor GU Minkang, Professor of The Education University of Hong Kong, summarised the reports.
There are three other forums focusing on the research areas of industry and regional innovation, city clusters and cross-regional cooperation, and city cluster governance. A number of experts and scholars have been invited to give presentations or comments. The conference also featured a roundtable discussion on “Vision for future cooperation" and a city study tour. The organisers hope the conference will provide insights into the co-ordinated and innovative development of cities in the Greater Bay Area, as well as suggestions of making a more vibrant and innovative ecology in the Greater Bay Area and the modernisation of the innovative governance system and governance capacity.