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A blue book on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Area (GBA) released on Monday indicates that the region's economic scale ranked top among global peers at the end of 2023, surpassing New York and San Francisco Bay areas.
The comprehensive think tank report, published annually since 2018, was jointly released by the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences and China's Social Sciences Academic Press in Guangzhou.
Since the Chinese government issued a pivotal development plan for the GBA more than five years ago, the region's GDP soared from 10.8 trillion yuan in 2018 to 14 trillion yuan in 2023. This growth is nearly equivalent to Shenzhen's GDP in 2023, according to the report, citing Wan Lu, an official from the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences.
The report revealed that the economic scale of the GBA by the end of 2023 far outpaced the USD1.8 trillion of the New York Bay Area and the USD1.38 trillion of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its size was on par with that of the Tokyo Bay Area.
The report underscores that the GBA has consistently prioritized the development of manufacturing and the real economy, improved urban functions and encouraged cooperation among industries.
On December 11, the Huangmaohai Link, a cross-sea passage in the GBA, opened to traffic, serving as another major cross-sea passage following the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link in the region.
With the completion of the cross-river and cross-sea channels, the region is building a world-class industrial corridor anchored by trillion-yuan-level clusters in sectors like advanced equipment manufacturing on the west bank of the Pearl River and high-end electronics on the east bank, according to the report.
In addition, the GBA has constructed a world-class regional transportation corridor with rail and aviation infrastructure. By the end of 2023, the region's railway network surpassed 2,700 kilometers, while urban rail systems reached 1,373 kilometers. The GBA also boasts a world-class aviation network, featuring seven airports and 11 runways. Key hubs in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shenzhen have collectively emerged as a leading global airport cluster, achieving passenger throughput surpassing that of Tokyo, New York and San Francisco, the report said.
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Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.
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