Railways highlight booming Bay Area

Railways are expected to expand to 4,700 kilometers by 2025 and 5,700 kilometers by 2035 in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, covering all cities at or above county level. 

Zheng Renhao, director of the Guangdong Development and Reform Commission, made the remark at a news conference in Guangzhou on Tuesday during a review of Bay Area development.

The railway network in the area has extended to nearly 2,500 kilometers, including 1,430 kilometers of high-speed rail, as the so-called one-hour living ring has taken shape.

As the cross-border flow of resources for innovation have become smoother, a dozen universities and research institutions in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions have received financial support from provincial and city governments in Guangdong for scientific and technological development, Zheng said.

Guangdong and the two SARs are jointly running 20 labs, as coordinated innovation has advanced in the Bay Area, he said.

Hong Kong and Macao residents have opened 180,000 personal accounts at banks on the Chinese mainland, with financial markets being increasingly interconnected.

As professional qualification recognition continues to expand, more than 3,000 people from Hong Kong and Macao have acquired professional status on the mainland.

As of the end of last year, about 279,200 residents from the two SARs had participated in pension, unemployment and work injury insurance in Guangdong.

Macao investors have registered 4,700 companies in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and Hong Kong investors have registered 11,900 companies in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, Zheng said.