Hong Kong has started the way to organize it the first five-year plan – an important moment in its history. Hong Kong’s first five-year plan should be more than a domestic economic blueprint. Considered properly, it should explain how the city contributes to China’s national development while preserving the global connections that make Hong Kong unique.
Success will depend on three mutually reinforcing pillars – deeper integration with the continent, seamless border connectivity and greater contribution to the national economy.
To achieve greater integration with mainland China’s technology-driven economy, Hong Kong is building science and technology parks in the Northern Metropolis, a 30,000-hectare area bordering Shenzhen. Yet a service-based economy cannot build a globally competitive technology cluster from scratch. Hong Kong’s success will depend on combining the mainland’s scientific and technological strengths with the city’s globally connected capital markets, universities and legal institutions.
Hong Kong being a special administrative region of China but a separate legal and customs jurisdiction under the World Trade Organization, comprehensive cooperation with mainland China requires rational planning to overcome the existing barriers that prevent the free movement of people, goods, capital, data and intangible assets.
To get around the restrictions of power, the Hong Kong government has established the law giving it broad powers to set aside existing urban planning regulations to accelerate development.
Authorities in mainland China and Hong Kong have invested heavily in infrastructure that allows large numbers of passengers to cross the border. Eight checkpoints for road or rail travel are already in place between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and at least one more is in the pipeline.
