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Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area: Enhancing Collaborative Governance of the CEPA Implementation and Regional Integration
Abstract
The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) was signed between Hong Kong and mainland China in 2003. It helped Hong Kong to recover its economy and widened the gate of economic integration between the two places. In 2015, the central government further proposed the concept of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) under the planning of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This article proposes that the Chinese authority wishes the better implementation of the CEPA under the GBA framework to serve as an example of economic cooperation for the international communities. This article provides insights from two perspectives: (i) it analyses the inherent problems of the CEPA’s initial settings, which are often neglected in the current literature; and (ii) it explains how the GBA would improve the collaborative governance of the CEPA implementation.
... In 2003, Hong Kong underwent a great impact on economic performance due to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), leading to the low popularity towards the newly established SAR Government. In order to stabilize public confidence, the central government and the SAR concluded a free trade agreement, the "Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)" [48]. The agreement changed the model of regional integration from business-oriented to government-oriented, implying that Hong Kong would be gradually involved in the national planning by the Chinese government. ...
... However, there were various difficulties in the CEPA implementation due to the localities' protectionism. The local governments were worried that the influx of investments and professional services might harm the counterparts in their jurisdictions [48]. Although the central government agreed to implement the CEPA across the whole country, only few localities had interests in attracting the business sectors from Hong Kong [48]. ...
... The local governments were worried that the influx of investments and professional services might harm the counterparts in their jurisdictions [48]. Although the central government agreed to implement the CEPA across the whole country, only few localities had interests in attracting the business sectors from Hong Kong [48]. Until 2015, when the GBA has been proposed under the BRI framework, Hong Kong was repositioned as a "super-connector" with the international arena [2]. ...
When the Chinese government proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)in 2015, Hong Kong was positioned as a “super-connector” responsible for bridging the mainland and global markets and was planned to integrate into the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area. The objective of this article is to analyze the Chinese designs to promote its BRI collaboration through Hong Kong to enhance foreign confidence and ensure that the related institutional transplantation is sustainable in other countries and that it is on par with international standards. However, the rise of neighboring cities and the changing Sino–American relationship in recent years has provided uncertainties for the future development of Hong Kong. Due to these factors, this article argues that Hong Kong may not effectively share the functions in the BRI planning designed by the Chinese authorities. Because Hong Kong’s role and how it influences the policy outcomes within the BRI framework have not been thoroughly studied, this article will supplement the current literature vacuum on this specific issue and its future development.
... The Pearl River is the 13th largest river in the world and the 2nd largest river in volume in China, with an annual average runoff of 3.50 × 10 11 m 3 (Shen et al., 2022). The Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, one of the most rapidly developing and populated regions in China, could experience an increasing release of pollutants into the South China Sea (SCS), especially after the implementation of Project Guangdong− Hong Kong− Macao Greater Bay Area (Fung, 2020;Hu et al., 2023). Therefore, it is essential to monitor the contamination status of OUVFs in the riverine outlets of the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), which is a vital link for pollutants emitted from the PRD region to the SCS. ...
... These different views prompt empirical research on the impacts of national experiences on trust in national government. Such experiences in Hong Kong, as an outlying region of Mainland China, cover Chinese culture and the neighboring Mainland territory in the Greater Bay Area, which are prominent in China's contemporary development strategies (Chan, 2020a(Chan, , 2020bLau, is developmental, specifically in facilitating adaptation, competence, diligence, and studying in the youth (Stich & Reeves, 2016). Hence, promoting trust in the national government with national experiences is germane to youth and their development and education (Chong, 2018;Qazi & Shah, 2019). ...
Trust in the national central government is particularly imperative for promotion in outlying regions, such as by enhancing their residents’ national cultural and territorial experiences. The contributions of such experiences, albeit grounded on contact and cultural theories, require empirical investigation. Such investigation engaged a survey of 2277 Chinese youths aged 18–29 years in Hong Kong, an outlying region returning to China’s sovereignty. Results evidenced that experience with Mainland Chinese territory in the Greater Bay Area during junior secondary schooling predicted recent trust in China’s national government, particularly in those born in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the cultural experience of Chinese enculturation during schooling predicted the trust conditionally with migrant status or the territorial experience. These results imply the value of enhancing national cultural and territorial experiences to promote youth’s trust in the central government.
... It not only reflects the positive changes in China's global health governance outlook but also is an attempt by China to make up for shortcomings in global health governance with a transformative attitude. Similar to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promoted by the Chinese government (Chan, 2020), the GCHA concept can help promote a positive image for China. That being said, the GCHA concept may not appeal to other countries. ...
A global community of health for all' has become a dominant concept in China's global health governance system. Although this concept has been investigated by several studies in different domains, little attention has been given to its discursive legitimation in China's media communication from a linguistic perspective. To fill this gap, the present study employs positive discourse analysis to investigate how the aforementioned concept is legitimised via the predominant discourses associated with COVID-19 in state-run Chinese English-language newspapers. The findings show that the Chinese news media attempted to formulate the positive discourses, including cooperation as a win-win solution, people's lives and well-being as the priority and science as the spirit, though the discourses may not resonate with some countries. The findings shed light on the use of language by the media in promoting official ideologies, projecting China's national image and improving China's international relations amid a global health crisis. Keywords A global community of health for all, Chinese English-language newspapers, COVID-19, discourse-historical approach, positive discourse analysis
... The growing bias and hostility of young people in Hong Kong toward mainland China, as evidenced by the massive youth-led protests in Hong Kong in recent years (Cheng, 2016;Veg, 2017), have been endangering the existing connections and regional cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China (Cheung, 2012;Ma, 2015;Chan, 2020;Lee and Chou, 2020). These negative sentiments and the resultant tensions, possibly driven by concerns over Hong Kong's increasing political and economic dependence on mainland China (Ma, 2015) and the decline of political trust in the Chinese central government in the Hong Kong society (Steinhardt et al., 2018), have had detrimental impacts on regional cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China, raising tremendous concerns in both regions. ...
The Chinese central government has been running an intensive exchange program called the Mainland China–Hong Kong Ten Thousand Student Exchange Program since 2012 to support local Hong Kong university students’ visits to mainland China, with the aim of promoting exchange and regional cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China. However, little is known about local Hong Kong university students’ views on regional cooperation and whether the program is effective in changing their views. Using a randomized experimental design, we find that most students hold positive views on regional cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China, but a considerable percentage of students oppose integration with mainland China. We also find that the program is effective in positively changing students’ views on certain aspects of regional cooperation related to the free trade zones and the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, but is not significantly effective on other aspects of regional cooperation. This study provides the first causal quantitative evidence regarding the impact of the mainland China–Hong Kong exchange program on local university students’ views regarding regional cooperation. The findings help inform the public about the prospect of regional cooperation and offer policy implications on youth exchange between mainland China and Hong Kong.
... As the world's workshop and manufacturing base for plastic and electronic products, textiles, etc., which are considered essential sources of PAEs (Serôdio and Nogueira, 2006;Simoneit et al., 2005), PAEs discharged into untreated and partially treated wastewater in PRD can be continuously transported to the PRE and the SCS via the eight major riverine outlets. Most importantly, after implementing Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in 2015 under the Belt and Road Initiative (Fung, 2020), further economic development and anthropogenic activities may lead to an increase of the release of pollutants in this region. As a vital link for pollutants emitted from the PRD to the SCS, the eight major riverine outlets have attracted increased attention accordingly (Guan et al., 2009;Wang et al., 2007;Xu et al., 2013). ...
Phthalate esters (PAEs) are representative additives used extensively in plastics. In this study, 15 PAEs were investigated at the eight riverine outlets of the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The total concentrations of Σ15PAEs, including both the dissolved and particulate phases, ranged from 562 to 1460 ng/L and 679 ng/L-2830 ng/L in the surface and bottom layers, respectively. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) dominated in the dissolved and suspended particulate matter (SPM) phases, respectively, accounting for >50 % and > 80 % of Σ15PAEs. Riverine input of wastewater from the PRD was possibly the primary source of the contamination. Higher levels of PAEs occurred at the eastern outlets than at the western ones. The dissolved and particulate PAEs varied seasonally, with significantly higher concentrations observed in the dry season than in the wet season. However, no significant differences of PAE levels in both phases were observed among low, medium, and high tides. The partitioning results demonstrated that SPM is important in the transportation of pollutants in estuaries, where more hydrophobic DEHP was predominantly transported by the SPM phase, while those more hydrophilic ones were regularly transported by the dissolved phase. The total annual flux of Σ15PAEs through the eight outlets to the SCS reached 1390 tons.
... In her 2018 policy address, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Carrie Lam, mentioned that in strengthening cooperation with the mainland, Hong Kong and the mainland have built many cooperation platforms, which is more conducive to expanding the scope of cooperation, such as innovation and technology, creative industries and other fields. The signing of CEPA 4 has built a good bridge for mutual investment in commodity and service markets, which is conducive to strengthening the links between Hong Kong and the mainland and promoting integrated development (Chan, 2020). In addition, a greater proportion of Hong Kong's investment in the mainland flows to Guangdong Province, so Hong Kong's direct investment in Guangdong Province has increased very rapidly. ...
The post-1997 massive inflow of capital led to a call to resist the Sinicisation of Hong Kong’s economy, while pragmatic advocators called for a pro-active leadership role for Hong Kong under the national initiative of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) – the Hongkongnisation of southern China. Instead of focusing on the form of the institution, as in the dominant academic discourses, we argue that the credibility and sustainability of the financial market in Hong Kong is determined by the specific functions that it can perform for the Chinese economy under the constraints of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ (OCTS).
Purpose of Review
This study provides a conceptual framework of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as a top-down project of cross-border governance (CBG). It examines the CBG theory and articulates the practices and challenges. It also reviews the energy collaboration between Hong Kong and Guangdong with the aim of situating the GBA project within a historical frame.
Recent Findings
This review highlights the importance of the building of institutions for achieving effective cross-border governance. It also shows that, for the regional energy cooperation of the GBA, while there is a shift towards environmental governance, attention on renewable and low-carbon energy remains weak.
Summary
We present three key recommendations for the cross-border energy collaboration in the GBA in the context of China’s ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2060: (1) the development of a common electricity market, (2) the development of cross-border cooperation in technological innovation, and (3) the development of a unified carbon trading market.
The 13th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China
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Agreement between the Mainland and Hong Kong on Achieving Basic Liberalisation of Trade in Services in Guangdong
37 "Agreement between the Mainland and Hong Kong on Achieving Basic Liberalisation of Trade in
Services in Guangdong", Trade and Industry Department, at <https://www.tid.gov.hk/english/cepa/legaltext/
files/sa18-12-2014_main_e.pdf> [1 May 2019].