GBAF seeks global solutions: Chinese Consul General to SF

Wang Donghua, the Chinese Consul General to San Francisco, delivers a speech at the Global Bay Area Cooperation and Development Forum in San Francisco, the United States, on March 29, 2019. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

The Global Bay Area Cooperation and Development Forum (GBAF) took place in San Francisco on March 29, with the theme of “Connect, Cooperate, Develop.” Wang Donghua, the Chinese Consul General to San Francisco, said that the event would allow bay areas around the world to communicate and seek solutions on a global level.

“The GBAF is a highly relevant one, as it provides us a platform to exchange experience on global bay areas development and seek solutions to problems we face,” Wang said during a speech at the forum.

Wang noted that global bay areas have served as a pivotal driving force in local and regional economic development in recent years, with a commitment to innovation-driven development and fully leveraging the strengths of natural geography, talents, capital, science and technology.

“The development of global bay areas is booming as a unique economic model. In the meantime, anti-globalization is on the rise; protectionism and unilateralism are mounting; the economic growth of global bay areas faces new challenges,” added the Consul General, praising the forum as both necessary and timely.

Wang also emphasized the importance of cooperation in regards to the blueprint for future development of global bay areas.

He noted that the interests of countries are increasingly interconnected, and the growth of global bay areas can't be separated from the global economy.

The Global Bay Area Cooperation and Development Forum (GBAF) took place in San Francisco, the United States, on March 29, 2019. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

During his state visit to France earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping said it is advisable to pursue an innovation-driven, well-coordinated and inter-connected, fair and inclusive approach and forge a growth model of vitality, create a cooperation model of openness and win-win results, and a development model of balance and common benefits.

The Consul General reckoned that these three models have far-reaching significance in steering the development of global bay areas.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is part of China’s further opening-up, offering new opportunities for the regions involved as well as other countries, said Wang, who added that China had created a sound environment for the Greater Bay Area by releasing a downsized negative list for market access and leveling the playing field for both domestic and foreign businesses with the recent adoption of a new foreign investment law.

Preeminent leaders from renowned metropolitan and bay areas worldwide, including New York, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Sydney, and the Northern Germany Innovation Hub, attended the forum to navigate new paths for the future of the global economy.