HKSAR-Pearl River Delta integration urged for
( 2002-07-09 09:16 ) (8 )

Improving the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)'s integration with the Pearl River Delta is one of those things everyone can safely say is a good thing, remarked the South China Morning Post (SCMP) Monday.

As part of the lift-out reporting on the Pearl River Delta Conference that addresses economic and social issues relating to the Pearl River Delta Monday morning, the paper made the statement in one of its major stories complementing the conference held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

The day-and-a-half long conference, which was organized by the newspaper and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, brought together leading politicians, academics and business people from the HKSAR and the mainland.

Addressing more than 400 delegates, Christopher Cheng, chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, said the HKSAR has actually always been economically integrated with China's mainland, especially the Pearl River Delta region.

So, those who advocate a closer economic integration between the mainland and HKSAR are not starting from zero base here, he said.

"But as China's economy grows and changes, new ways are needed to take advantage of the growth of China, while maintaining HKSAR' s international character," he said.

Thaddeus Beczak, deputy chairman of SCMP group said, "We have followed the huge emphasis on infrastructure and logistics developments."

He said other issues the paper will discuss include the flow of goods, services and people within the region, environmental issues, and investments through the delta.

Christopher Cheng stressed that the new economic integration between the HKSAR and China's mainland is very much admired.

"The business communities of both sides have to do the work, but the central, provincial, city and the SAR governments must remove barriers and do the facilitation," he noted.