Building a modern new city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area — Interview with Xu Xiaoxiong, deputy to the National People’s Congress and mayor of Zhaoqing
Hong Kong Economic Herald 2023 Two Sessions Reporting Team Reporter Sun Lei
As the largest city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, how does Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province plan for the city’s high-quality development and integrate into the new development pattern? With this question in mind, on March 8, representatives of the National People’s Congress and Zhaoqing City, who were participating in the national “Two Sessions” Mayor Xu Xiaoxiong accepted an interview with our reporter.
In response to reporters’ questions, Xu Xiaoxiong said that Zhaoqing, as a member of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, serves “rebuilding a new Guangdong” by “rebuilding a new Zhaoqing” and makes Zhaoqing’s due responsibilities and contributions in the process of Chinese-style modernization. Specifically, Zhaoqing mainly focuses on the following aspects:
“Soft and Hard Connectivity” and “Integration Circle” Development and Construction of Beautiful Zhaoqing
The first is to build a new manufacturing city in the western part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area based on the real economy and insisting on the manufacturing industry . Focus on big industries, build big platforms, build big projects, cultivate big enterprises, create a big environment, and solidify and strengthen the manufacturing industry. Cultivate and strengthen leading and characteristic industrial clusters, with Xpeng Motors and Ruiqing Times as leaders, strive to expand new energy vehicles, electronic information, and new energy storage industries, refine and optimize the fine chemicals, food and beverage prepared vegetable industries, and accelerate the metal Traditional industries such as processing and building materials will be transformed and upgraded to create more 100-billion-level industrial clusters. Accelerate the construction of large-scale industrial clusters in Guangdong Province (Zhaoqing) and strive to create a “10,000 acres and 100 billion” platform. Adhere to the “two unwavering principles”, continue to implement policies that benefit enterprises, polish the “all-in-one” service brand, and create a good environment for state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and foreign enterprises to compete for development.
The second is to strengthen the development of “soft and hard connectivity” and “integration circle” to build a new pattern of great openness and great circulation . Actively integrate into the industrial chain innovation chain of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, plan to build the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Deep Cooperation (Zhaoqing) Demonstration Zone, create a “1+9+N” Hong Kong and Macao youth innovation and entrepreneurship base system, and actively participate in R&D incubation, industry development in Hong Kong and Macao and other places Full chain cooperation including cultivation, finance and trade. Deeply integrate into the Guangzhou metropolitan area and promote the joint construction and coordinated development of transportation facilities, industrial layout, ecological environment, public services, etc. Strengthen the physical connectivity of transportation facilities, jointly build the “Greater Bay Area on Track”, coordinate and cooperate with the construction of the Pearl River Delta hub airport, build the Xijiang inland river shipping hub center, and comprehensively build a “road, rail, water and air” comprehensive transportation hub. Actively participate in the “Bay Area Connect” project and the construction of the “Digital Bay Area”, deepen the reform of “digital government”, and promote the integration of rules and market connectivity. Vigorously develop productive and daily service industries for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Southwest region, create a number of professional trading markets, commodity distribution centers and cultural tourism consumption hotspots to better serve and integrate into international and domestic large markets and cycles.
The third is to coordinately promote education, innovation, and talent work, and build an education highland, an innovation highland, and a talent highland . Vigorously implement the “Ten Major Projects” for education revitalization, accelerate the high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education and urban-rural integration, and form a higher-quality applied higher education base in the Greater Bay Area. We will solidly advance the “Eight Major Projects” of scientific and technological innovation, actively participate in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Science and Technology Innovation Center, build innovation platforms such as Beiling Science and Education City, and comprehensively enhance scientific and technological innovation capabilities, innovation resource gathering capabilities, and innovation achievement transformation capabilities . Actively participate in the construction of a high-level talent highland in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, optimize the implementation of the “Xijiang Talent Plan”, and introduce high-level talents and skilled talents.
The fourth is to adhere to ecological priority and green development, and build a stronger ecological barrier in the western part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area . Zhaoqing is an important ecological barrier and a beautiful ecological oasis in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, with a forest coverage rate of 71%. In recent years, Zhaoqing has successfully established itself as a national forest city and a national ecological civilization construction demonstration city, and its air and water environment quality ranks among the top cities in the country. Next, we will implement the six major actions of green and beautiful Zhaoqing ecological construction, coordinate and promote the integrated protection and restoration of “Mountains, Lakes, City, Rivers, Linquan Gorge”, continue to in-depth fight to defend blue skies, clear water and pure land, promote green and low-carbon development, and build Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao The Greater Bay Area (Zhaoqing) Green Energy Base strives to build a higher level of beautiful Zhaoqing.
Helping Hong Kong and Macao enterprises to settle and develop for mutual benefit and win-win results
Talking about the future development of Zhaoqing’s industries, Xu Xiaoxiong told reporters that Zhaoqing High-tech Zone, Zhaoqing New District, Jinli High-tech Zone and other key platform parks will accelerate the construction to lay a solid foundation for the high-quality development of Zhaoqing’s industries.
He said that in recent years, Zhaoqing has insisted on “parks as the mother” and made every effort to build a “1 +1+N” park pattern to comprehensively improve industrial carrying capacity and agglomeration. The city has focused on the following tasks.
First, Zhaoqing High-tech Zone has become the “locomotive” of the city’s industrial development . Accelerate the construction of the Pearl River Delta (Zhaoqing) National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone and the National Scientific and Technological Achievements Transfer and Transformation Demonstration Zone. It has been recognized as the National Torch New Energy Vehicle Characteristic Industry Base and has been ranked in the comprehensive evaluation of national high-tech zones for four consecutive years. We will promote the upgrading of Zhaoqing High-tech Zone, accelerate its transformation into a new industrial technology city, and strive to build a first-class high-tech zone in the country. Second, Zhaoqing New Area has entered a new stage of industry-city integration . A 125-kilometer urban trunk road network has been built, and high-level hospitals, schools, hotels, environmental protection and other supporting facilities have been completed and put into use. The investment in “big infrastructure” has been transferred to the introduction stage of “big industry”. We will comprehensively implement the “four major battles” of industrial investment promotion, improvement of financial and state-owned assets, smart and livable urban construction, and reform, opening up and innovation, and strive to build a modern new area with great development vitality and prospects in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The third is to upgrade Gaoyao Jinli from an “industrial town” to a “strong manufacturing town” . As the “Hometown of Small Hardware in China”, Jinli Provincial High-tech Zone promotes the integrated development of new industrialization and new urbanization through park integration. The total industrial output value of the town ranks first among the towns (streets) in Zhaoqing. We will further advance Jinli’s “integration of industrialization and informatization” reform, accelerate the construction of characteristic platforms such as hardware smart manufacturing towns, promote the metal processing industry towards modern smart manufacturing, and strive to build a bridgehead for participating in the construction of the Guangzhou metropolitan area.
Xu Xiaoxiong is full of confidence in the economic development plan of Zhaoqing Park! He also said that in the future, Zhaoqing will use the “1+1+N” park as a carrier to adhere to the “two-wheel drive” of investment promotion and capital increase and production expansion, highlight the benefits per mu, and actively carry out site-based investment promotion and targeted investment promotion. , chain owners attract investment, and use business to attract business, setting off a new round of industrial investment promotion boom. At the same time, we will make greater efforts to expand opening up, implement the “five foreign linkages” combination, and cultivate and expand comprehensive foreign trade service enterprises and local export enterprises. We will do a good job in promoting “overseas Chinese” in the new era, carry out the “Zhaoqing Xingxiangxian Xiangxian, Work Together for the Future” campaign, expand foreign cooperation and exchanges, and make every effort to introduce manufacturing projects. In particular, we will deepen economic and trade exchanges with Hong Kong and Macao and promote Hong Kong and Macao enterprises to settle and develop in Zhaoqing for mutual benefit and win-win results.
Turn rural development’s shortcomings into Zhaoqing’s development potential
Promoting rural revitalization is a major step in national development. How can Zhaoqing comprehensively promote rural revitalization and promote urban-rural integrated development from a higher starting point?
Regarding this issue, Xu Xiaoxiong said that we should focus on the goals and tasks of “a start in one year, initial results in three years, significant changes in five years, and fundamental changes in ten years”, and thoroughly implement the “high-quality development project of hundreds of counties, thousands of towns and thousands of villages”, and focus on Transform the shortcomings in the development of counties, towns and villages into the potential for high-quality development in Zhaoqing.
The first is to build a superior industrial cluster as the core to make the county economy bigger and stronger . Accelerate the promotion of new industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, and build a “flying geese formation” county development pattern. Cultivate county-level leading industries and characteristic advantageous industries, promote the eastern part of the city to improve the level of industrial development and urban functional quality, and the western part to improve green development and ecological protection capabilities. The second is to focus on building a central town, a professional town and a characteristic town, and promote the linkage of towns, streets, cities and villages . We insist on grasping the two ends to promote the middle, and promote the “two ends” in Jinli Town, Dasha Town, Xiashuai Township and Shapu Town in various towns (streets). We will promote the demonstration construction of towns and villages of “Industry and Farmers”, promote the expansion and quality improvement of central towns, specialize in main businesses in professional towns, and specialize in characteristic towns, so as to create a group of top 1,000 towns in the country and top 100 towns in the province. The third is to promote the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas by building the entire agricultural industry chain . Adhere to the concept of industrialization to develop industries that enrich the people and rejuvenate villages, vigorously develop pre-made vegetables, aquatic products, fruits and other characteristic and advantageous industries, accelerate the construction of a modern agricultural development pattern driven by leaders, large-scale agglomeration, and complete chains, and push the city’s total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery to exceed 1,000,000 as soon as possible. billion. Adhere to the implementation of rural construction actions with aesthetic thinking and create a number of beautiful leisure villages and key rural tourism villages. Adhere to cultivating modern agriculture in a professional direction and create a team of “new farmers” who love agriculture, understand technology, and are good at management.