A GDP of 500 billion USD and a foreign trade volume of 350 billion USD, make Guangdong and Hong Kong the 17th strongest economic region in the world, when measured by GDP. Some experts declared the Guangdong-Hong Kong alliance as the most vibrant in all of Asia.

"Hong Kong and Guangdong are closely related to each other and the people of these two places share many common interests," said Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. "Without Guangdong's help, Hong Kong could not have the achievement it has enjoyed in the past decade since its return to China."

Guangdong, with a GDP of only 18.7 billion RMB in 1978, experienced a magical economic boom in the past two decades thanks to the opening up policy and its cooperation with Hong Kong. In 2006, its GDP surged to 2.6 trillion RMB. In 2006, Guangdong and Hong Kong together yielded a GDP of 506 billion USD, with Macao added in the GDP reached 600 billion. The three brothers, dubbed as the "Greater Pearl River Delta" region (GPRD), has surpassed the Yangzi River Delta and ranks 1st among China's city clusters measured by economic output.

Being the domestic champion is not the ultimate target for the GPRD region, Huang Huahua, Governor of Guangdong, stated earlier this year that the region will be built into one of the most prosperous and energetic economic centres of the world by 2020.

NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS
Guangdong and Hong Kong share one of the world's busiest borders with a flow of 150 million passengers and 15 million vehicles crossing last year. There are currently over a half-million people crossing this border every day. Luohu customs received over 92 million passengers last year, with over 60 percent from Guangdong. On every national "G-olden Week Holiday", Hong Kong enjoys a sales income of over 2 billion HKD, thanks to the central government's policy on easier entrance to Hong Kong for mainlanders. This had encouraged residents from both regions to invest in each other's economies.

The talent flow between Guangdong and Hong Kong has also increased in recent years. Last year, Hong Kong start-ed a new talent project to attract more mainland talent to work and live in the small but prosperous island and many Hong Kong people are now working in the Pearl River Delta in various enterprises and universities.

UNITED AS ONE
Guangdong-Hong Kong cooperation was once defined as Hong Kong being the front shop while Guangdong was the back factory. In the past few years, over 100,000 Hong Kong enterprises have built their companies in Guangdong. Hong Kong's investment in Guangdong is over 150 billion USD.

As early as 1982, Hong Kong's Nan Yang Commercial Bank opened its first mainland branch in Shenzhen, which was the start of Hong Kong banks' entering the mainland market. Besides manufacturing, Hong Kong entrepreneurs have invested in Guangdong's infrastructure, finance and other services. This investment has grown rapidly in the past four years, thanks to the mainland-Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Agreement.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong is attracting Guangdong's investment. In 2006, 60 mainland enterprises opened branches in Hong Kong, a third of which were from Guangdong, doing business in technology, tourism, and entertainment and trading. This further stabilized Hong Kong's role as an international trade and service centre.

GUANGDONG-HONG KONG COOPERATION AGREEMENTS SIGNED IN THE CONFERENCE IN AUGUST

Service Industry
1.Accounting, auditing, legal service, medicare, social service and other professional service
2.High-end service industry related to hi-tech manufacturing
3.Production service industry
4.Consultant service for Hong Kong investors on the latest mainland policies
5.Better the service-industry-cooperation-related mechanism
6.Organize events and seminars on ser-vice industries' cooperation

Green Production
1.Green production and resource usage improvement
2.Support sustainable-development-related technology R&D
3.Support local enterprises and companies' environmental protection plans
4.Enhance exchanges on policies,  technology standard on energy saving, green production and rational resource usage

Cooperation on Social Welfare

Guangdong Exports Fish to Hong Kong

Informationalization
1.Further the cooperation between soft-ware industries of both sides
2.Promote RFID technology
3.Wireless network management
4.Training of IT professionals
5.Digital certificates and e-business
6.Exchanges on the IT-related standards
7.Digital-entertainment-industry-related cooperation and professional training
8.Organize local universities and IT institutes to cooperate on internet technology research
9.Cooperation between Guangdong mobile industries and Hong Kong wireless technology R&D institutes
10.IT-related infrastructure construction and resource sharing
11.Modern information service industry
12.Enhance the IT-related exchanges

IPR Cooperation
1.Continue the ongoing projects
2.Simplify the cross-border IPR application procedures
3.Organize the exchange between universities and R&D institutes of both sides on IPR management
4.Hold Creative Industry and IPR Forum
5.Hold Knowledge Capital Management Seminar
6.Survey on the development of creative industry of both sides

Editor: Wing