Guangdong Strengthens Ties With Hong Kong, Macao

Southern China's Guangdong Province has strengthened its relationship with Hong Kong and Macao since their return to the motherland respectively.

Their cooperation has extended into more fields, which pushed ahead the economic integration of the three regions.

The most effective joint effort is their cracking down on cross- regional crimes.

On December 18, the Guangdong police handed over four offenders on the wanted circulars to their Hong Kong and Macao counterparts.

Zhou Weiping, researcher at the Research Society of Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macao Economy, believed that the remarkable improvement of law and order in Macao resulted from the Guangdong-Macao joint efforts of cracking down on cross-regional crimes.

He said the promotion of cooperation among the three regions also encouraged economic growth in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao respectively.

Guangdong and Hong Kong has strengthened cooperation in various fields, especially in fields of tourism, port building, trade and hydro-power.

The two sides also probed cooperation in the air quality of Pearl River delta area, water quality protection of Dongjiang River, urban planning and some other fields.

Hong Kong has become Guangdong's top overseas investment source and during the Guangdong Economic and Technological Trade Fair held in Hong Kong earlier this year, Hong Kong businessmen signed US$3.37 billion worth of contracts with Guangdong ventures, accounting for half of the total contracted overseas investment.

Since Macao's return to the motherland at the end of last year, Zhuhai and Macao promoted their cooperation in various fields.

In the first 11 months of this year, Zhuhai registered 219 projects with Macao investment, with a volume of US$87.6 million of investment.

During May 1 festival period, Hong Kong received 250 traveling groups from the inland areas in the first two days of the festival. The number is five times higher than the same period of last year.

Macao also received 7.6 million tourists in the first 10 months of this year, up 24 percent from last year.

After China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), service and trade will become part of the fields opening wider to the outside world.

Experts in Guangzhou predict that Hong Kong and Macao will still be a " gateway" for introducing international capital to the inland areas for quite a long time.






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