ZHUHAI, China, Sept. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The second 21st
Century Maritime Silk Road China (Guangdong) International Communication Forum
was held in Zhuhai from September 19 to
21. Hundreds of participants from media, political and
business circles across the world got together to
have in-depth discussions and
exchange on the theme "New Era, New Silk Road, New Image". The new practices and achievements in
constructing the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road were also demonstrated. According to
experts, the forum would
advance the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and
China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone and build a
new image of an open Guangdong. As
the event's host city, Zhuhai also presented its new image and aspirations on
the world stage.
"Zhuhai is a cradle of the Maritime Silk Road. Since reform and
opening up, Zhuhai has maintained close business and cultural
relations with countries and regions along the routes. Against this
new historical backdrop, we will strive to transform the city into
a new economic engine for the Greater Bay Area and a great magnet
with unique features," said Guo Yonghang, Secretary of the CPC
Zhuhai Municipal Committee.
The presence of Zhuhai as a strategic gateway will be more
obvious when the Guangdong-Hong
Kong-Macao Bridge begins operation.
According to data of 2017 released by the world-renowned shipping
consultancy Alphaliner, the container throughput of the Port of Zhuhai grew by 37.3% to 2.27
million TEU, ranking 73rd in the world and registering the 2nd highest growth rate. Zhuhai Port
Holdings attributes the rapid growth of its business to the
improving infrastructure.
Official statistics show that Zhuhai's GDP reached 256.473 billion yuan (USD
37.35 billion) in 2017, up 9.2% from 2016, outracing any
other counterparts in Guangdong.
Another critical task for Zhuhai to advance the building of the
Greater Bay Area is to strengthen cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao and expand connection with the world.
An increasing number of Hong
Kong-and Macao-based
financial institutions are coming to Zhuhai. Official data shows
that by the end of June 2018, the
Hengqin Area of China
(Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone
had attracted 144 financial companies from Hong Kong, with a total registered capital of
58.859 billion yuan (USD 8.576 billion) and 18 financial firms from
Macao.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
proposed by China will
be a catalyst for new markets and new ideas around the world, said
Thomas J. Sargent, Nobel laureate in
Economics and professor at New York
University, at the main forum on September 20.
Professor Georgy Toloraya,
executive director of the Russian National Committee on BRICS
Research and vice president of the Russian Public Diplomacy World
Peace Foundation, said that the BRI is not only beneficial to
China but also to those countries
along the routes. He suggested that the Maritime Silk Road should
not confine itself to those countries along the ancient route in
South Asia and Southeast Asia, but also extends to the north
for the building of a "Polar Silk Road" and common development with
Russia's Far East.
China will create extensive
opportunities for the Latin American and the Caribbean countries as it keeps opening up
itself to the world, said Heraldo Laura
Gonzalez, executive editor-in-chief of Mexico Reforma,
adding that his newspaper is willing to help Guangdong-based companies to increase
cooperation with Mexico.
Thanks to the glue of cultural exchanges, the BRI, through
communication between governments and mutually beneficial
cooperation between companies, combines domestic and foreign
companies as a community of shared future and shared interests, so
as to realize the dream of win-win cooperation.
No doubt Zhuhai is now given rare opportunities in this historic
period as it pursues the growth of the Greater Bay Area and the
Maritime Silk Road.
The latest urban planning of Zhuhai shows that the new city map
will be centered around the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bridge extension. By promoting an
integrated development of the Hengqin New Area, the bonded zone and
the Port of Hongwan, a new city center and economic engine covering
46.64 square km will emerge.
What cannot go unnoticed is that Zhuhai, in its so-called
"second bid to prosper," focuses more on collaborative innovation
with the rest of the world and interconnectivity with the Maritime
Silk Road countries in terms of capital, technology and
talents.
Today, strolling in Zhuhai Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone,
one would be surprised to find out there are more than 7000
high-tech firms there. In its bid to be a national independent
innovative demonstration zone, the development zone has become the
main engine of the city's innovation-driven development by
concentrating resources on high-tech industries.
Embarking on a new path of development, Zhuhai will provide more
opportunities for the world and while its development has only been
made possible through pooling elements of innovation from across
the globe, said the experts at the forum, adding that Zhuhai's
favorable ecological environment and huge potential will be
critical in attracting global innovative talents.
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SOURCE The People's Government of Zhuhai Municipality