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Southern alliance rises on the Pearl
By Li Wenfang (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-03 22:34 Top officials of 11 administrative regions in
southern China signed a framework agreement Thursday, vowing to strengthen
economic co-operation across the board in the largest economic bloc in China.
The regions, which form what is called Pan-Pearl River
Delta (Pan-PRD) region, agreed on closer ties in ten various business sectors.
The include: infrastructure, industry and investment, commerce and trade,
tourism, agriculture, labour, science, education and culture, information
technology, environmental protection and public health.
signing on the agreement [newsphoto]
The agreement was reached Thursday after the first Pan-PRD Regional
Co-operation and Development Forum. It was held over three days in Hong Kong,
Macao, and concluded Thursday in Guangzhou in the capital of Guangdong Province.
The Pan-PRD concept, proposed by Guangdong Provincial Party Secretary Zhang
Dejiang last year, encompasses the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan,
Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region, and the two SARs.
Closer co-operation in the pan-delta region has become a common goal of the
11 regions, which are also known as "9--2" amid the economic globalization and
accelerated regional co-operation, the agreement states
With the great support from related agencies of the central government, the
co-operation is also in line with the strategy set by the authorities for
promoting coordinated regional development in China, said Zhong Yangsheng,
director of the forum's organizing committee.
The collaboration strategically important to greater prosperity for Hong Kong
and Macao, and to further opening-up of mainland provinces, with the economic
strength and competitiveness of the pan-delta region as a whole benefiting, the
agreement says.
Brewed from the Greater PRD concept, which covers Guangdong, Hong Kong and
Macao, the pan-delta accord is also an answer to the call for accelerated
implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) pacts
between the mainland and the two SARs, said Huang Huahua, governor of Guangdong,
at a press conference.
Top officials of the 11 regions all pledged to do their part in pushing
forward Pan-PRD co-operation at the press conference.
With a principle of "market leads, government facilitates," the co-operation
is meant to bring complementary advantages to member regions into full play and
to achieve a so-called "win-win" situation, the agreement says.
Under the principle of openness and fairness, it also calls for the breakdown
of trade barriers among regions.
The agreement will feature annual joint conference of the administrative
chiefs of the member regions, co-ordination among secretary-generals of the
governments of the mainland regions and related officials from the SARs, with
working offices to be established in the governments of 11 regions.
The 11 regions also have agreed a Pan-delta forum and the associated
Pan-delta economic and trade fair will be held every year in rotation among the
areas.
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