Five important new agreements aim to further boost cross-border cooperation

Governor of Guangdong province Zhu Xiaodan on Wednesday invited more Hong Kong young people to start their own business in the Guangdong Free Trade Zone - as five new agreements were signed by the Hong Kong and Guangdong governments to enhance cross-border cooperation.

A local youth policy researcher said the invitation was an opportunity for the SAR's young people to break the "bottleneck" in Hong Kong and open up new businesses on the mainland.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (second right, back row) and Zhu Xiaodan, governor of Guangdong province (second left, back row), witness the signing of agreements on cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangdong. This was during the signing ceremony of the 18th Plenary of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference at Central Government Offices on Wednesday. Parker Zheng / China Daily

Skilled Hong Kong people and enterprises can enjoy the lowest threshold for entering the Guangdong FTZ, compared with places overseas, Zhu said after meeting Hong Kong officials.

Both governments are also considering setting aside a zone for Hong Kong's service industry inside the Nansha New Area in Guangzhou - the largest of the three areas of Guangdong FTZ.

Nelson Chow Wing-sun, professor of youth policy at the University of Hong Kong, said there was little room for young people with high-tech skills in Hong Kong. But in Shenzhen, the creative technology industry had become its pillar industry, he explained.

Hong Kong enterprises are experiencing structural shifts in building up their businesses in Guangdong. Traditional labor-intensive industries have gradually been replaced by small-sized high-tech ones.

Hong Kong resident Peter Choi Chi-man, 35, has first-hand experience of those changes. The director and founder of Palapple, a mobile and Web platform, has now set up its business in the Qianhai area.

The FTZ in Guangdong could be a test field for startups from Hong Kong as both places share similar cultures, Choi said. The business leader believes Qianhai has given his company a springboard to the mainland market.

Up to now, a total of 1,627 companies from Hong Kong have set up businesses in Qianhai and Shekou in Shenzhen.

Chow said the old ways of setting up business on the mainland were no longer working. The new business model was talent-oriented, but a relatively small-sized one, he said.

Chow believes the new trend will benefit Hong Kong in the near future.

A total of five new agreements on food safety, cross-border sister schools, cross-border trade, rescue services at sea, and protection of intellectual property were signed by the two regions in the 18th Plenary of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference.

Speaking after the conference, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying urged Hong Kong companies in Guangdong to take advantage of the creative system of the FTZ, as well as its policies, to achieve a win-win situation.

The HK$300 million Youth Development Fund was initiated by Leung in his last Policy Address to support innovative youth development activities. It also removes the area restriction and allows young people to start their own businesses outside the city.

As cross-border youth cooperation continues to be strengthened, the city's young people can expect more opportunities to study and work on the mainland.

Currently, two-thirds of the 441 nationwide cross-border sister schools are in Guangdong. A total of 530 young people from the city went to Guangdong for an internship program in June. Another 40,000 teachers and students visited Guangdong last year via exchange programs.

stushadow@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 09/10/2015 page6)