Policy Address

(C) Development of the Greater Bay Area

88. As one of its core cities, Hong Kong plays a vital role in driving the GBA's development. It also plays an irreplaceable part in our country's reform and opening up. The Government will continue to lead the entire community to dovetail with national strategies and integrate into the country's overall development in a more proactive manner. We will also strengthen mutually beneficial co-operation with Guangdong and Macao and deepen co-ordinated development.

89. We will continue to deepen our co-operation with Guangdong and Macao, forging closer convergence of our respective rules and mechanisms to enhance the flow of people, goods, data and capital. Relevant measures include:

  1. Develop the HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park. Upon security screening and cargo acceptance in Dongguan, Mainland cargo can be transported directly to the HKIA for transhipment, significantly reducing operating costs. This is the most successful model of GBA co-operation. Phase 1 development's permanent facilities will be completed in stages, starting from the end of this year. The preliminary study for Phase 2 development is also set to commence this year, including the introduction of more high value-added logistics and cross-boundary e-commerce facilities.

  2. Promote a panel of GBA arbitrators and a platform for GBA commercial mediation and arbitration to lower enterprises' costs of cross-boundary dispute resolution.

  3. Extend cross-boundary ambulance transfer arrangements with the governments of Guangdong and Macao, including two-way ambulance transfers and expansion to cover designated hospitals in Zhuhai and Nansha.

  4. Enhance Cross-boundary Credit Referencing and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong cross-boundary data validation platform to facilitate Hong Kong banks' credit assessment of Mainland residents and enterprises in Hong Kong.