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Pearl River Delta repositioned as reform test field

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-08 18:36

Pearl River Delta, the former vanguard of China's economic reform, will be a new test field for the country as it works to deepen economic reform and open itself wider to the outside world, the country's top economic planner said Thursday.

Under a plan released Thursday by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the delta, together with Hong Kong and Macau, will be forged into "a globally competitive" and "vigorous area in the Asia-Pacific region" by 2020.

The Pearl River Delta includes the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Jiangmen, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing in southern Guangdong province.

The NDRC plan maps out comprehensive development for the delta area, including industrial development, technology innovation, environmental protection and social welfare. The plan includes cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao.

A statement by the State Council, or the Cabinet, in 1979 picked the Pearl River Delta as the forefront of the country's reform and opening-up drive, leading to the delta's prosperity in the past 30 years, Du Ying, vice minister of the NDRC, said at a press conference Thursday.

The area will continue to serve as "an experimental field" of the country's 30-year-old reforms. Key breakthroughs in economic, political, cultural and social reforms are expected during the region's "bold" tryouts, according to the plan.

As it was hailed 30 years ago, the delta will again be a frontier for exploration of "scientific development", Du said. He said it would kick off a new era of prosperity for the region.

The region will gain more autonomy in economic restructuring, coordinating balanced urban and rural development and building a harmonious society.