China’s top legislature pledged to render more support including thematic research to highlight the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s strengths and facilitate its integration into national blueprints, a spokesperson for the legislature said on Tuesday.
A day ahead of the opening of the annual session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Lou Qinjian, the spokesperson for the third session of the 14th NPC, reaffirmed the country’s unwavering support for the Greater Bay Area development during a news conference packed with reporters from home and abroad.
With the aid of the policies rolled out by the central authorities, the Greater Bay Area has seen stronger hard connectivity of infrastructure, soft connectivity of rules and institutions, and heartfelt connectivity among people of the Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong province, said Lou.
Over the past five years, the gross domestic product of the Greater Bay Area has risen to over 14 trillion yuan ($1.92 trillion), surpassing its global counterparts, the New York Bay Area and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The region also enjoys a one-hour life circle, with more convenient flows of people, cargo and capital, said Lou.
As the national legislature, the NPC Standing Committee has always actively supported the cluster’s development. This year, the Standing Committee will carry out thematic research to further unlock the Greater Bay Area’s potential in legislative aspects, facilitating the region’s integration into national strategies and benefiting the people of the three places, Lou noted.
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Published by the central authorities in 2019, the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area aims to guide and develop the 11-city cluster, with Hong Kong, Macao and the nine cities of Guangdong province, into a world-class hub with highly developed innovative industries, coordinated regional development and an optimized industrial structure.
The Greater Bay Area development also gives the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions — which have served critical roles in the nation’s opening up over the past decades — a chance to better integrate into the country and tackle their deep-seated problems, according to Lou.
With strong support from the central government, Hong Kong has gradually increased its supplies of land and housing to improve people’s livelihoods, while Macao’s newly completed Island Healthcare Complex, a joint effort between the city and Peking Union Medical College Hospital, has significantly enhanced its healthcare capacity, added Lou.
The NPC annual session is set to begin on Wednesday and will continue until March 11. So far, 2,893 of the 2,929 NPC deputies have registered for the event.
Hong Kong and Macao are represented in the top legislature by 36 and 12 deputies, respectively. Honoring a longstanding tradition, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and Macao Chief Executive Sam Hou-fai will be present as guests at the session's opening.
National legislators will deliberate over the government's work report, to be delivered by Premier Li Qiang, scrutinize central and local budgets, and review last year's economic and social development plan, while also drafting budgets and plans for 2025, according to the agenda adopted in the sessions’ preparatory meeting on Tuesday morning.
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NPC deputies will also consider a bill amending the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels, and deliberate over the work reports of the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, respectively.
