China to Expand Shenzhen's Qianhai Zone to Hong Kong and Macau
China will lead an eight-fold expansion of the Qianhai economic cooperation zone, state-run media outlet Xinhua reported, as China announced the plan on the same day as a visit to Shenzen by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. The Qianhai zone, opened in 2010, will expand from 15 square kilometers to around 120 square kilometers. The expansion is intended to more greatly integrate Hong Kong and Macau's economy into the Greater Bay Area -- a region made up of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other Pearl River Delta cities, Bloomberg reported. The plan generally calls for further liberalizing of the financial sector and services trade, including more cross-border securities investment and allowing cross-border use of the yuan.
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"The Qianhai Plan has once again demonstrated the country's key strategic planning, under which the development of the Greater Bay Area would enrich the implementation of 'One Country, Two Systems', deepen reform and expand the scope of opening up, and enhance the level of co-operation amongst Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao," Lam said, according to a release from the Hong Kong government. "Utilising modern service industries as an entry point, we will further promote Guangdong-Hong Kong co-operation as well as Hong Kong-Shenzhen co-operation, with a view to enhancing Hong Kong's integration into the overall national development. Hong Kong has the institutional strength of 'One Country, Two Systems' and offers a first-class business environment that is highly market-oriented and internationalised and underpinned by the rule of law."