Organizer:
The Better Hong Kong Foundation
Co-organizers:
Institute of Finance and Trade Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Seminar and Press Conference of 2008 China Urban Competitiveness Study (Hong Kong) is held in Hong Kong on April 1, 2008. It is organized by The Better Hong Kong Foundation and co-organized by Institute of Finance and Trade Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. “The 2008 Blue Book on China Urban Competitiveness” project is led by Dr Pengfei Ni in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The urban competitiveness of 200 cities in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau is analyzed.
1. Urban Competitiveness Ranking
The top 10 cities in overall urban competitiveness are: Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Guangzhou, Kaohsiung, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Tianjin. Hong Kong also ranked 1st in 2006 and 2007. Hong Kong also ranked 1st in efficiency competitiveness, structural competitiveness and quality competitiveness. Hong Kong ranked 2nd in scale competitiveness after Shanghai. Hong Kong ranked 7th in efficacy competitiveness but still ahead of Shanghai and Shenzhen. Comparing with rapidly growing cities in the mainland, Hong Kong ranked 195th in growth competitiveness.
2. Hong Kong versus Shanhai in Urban Competitiveness
Hong Kong and Shanghai rank 1st and 2nd in explanatory urban competitiveness. Among eight sub-indicators, Hong Kong ranks 1st in four sub-indicators, 2nd in three sub-indicators and 4th in one sub-indicator. Shanghai also ranks 1st in two sub-indicators, 2nd in three sub-indicators and 3rd or 4th in three sub-indicators.
Hong Kong performs better than Shanghai in competitiveness of public sector, living quality, social environment, human resources, industries and business environment. But Shanghai leads Hong Kong in competitiveness of innovation environment and firms.
Both cities are strong in competitiveness of human resources, industries, business environment and innovation environment. The two cities have many opportunities for cooperation. For examples, Hong Kong can attract more talents from Mainland. Shanghai also has many good companies and Hong Kong has excellent financial markets. The cooperation of financial services between the two cities will benefit both cities and the economic development of China.
3. Urban Cluster Ranking
Among 33 urban clusters in China,Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban cluster ranks 1st in comprehensive urban competitiveness. Its endowment competitiveness and growth competitiveness also rank 1st while current competitiveness ranks 2nd. In current competitiveness, YRD urban cluster is driven by foreign investment, traditional manufacturing and specialized local industrial clusters. Shanghai functions as an international city, Nanjing and Hangzhou as central cities providing producer services, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Ningbo focusing on advanced manufacturing. But the spatial division of labour in the urban cluster is still not adequate. The YRD urban cluster is forming a global manufacturing region ranking 1st in GDP, import and export and urban primacy in 2007.
Pearl River Delta (PRD) urban cluster ranks 2nd in comprehensive urban competitiveness. Its current competitiveness ranks 1st while endowment competitiveness ranks 2nd and growth competitiveness ranks 3rd. In current competitiveness, PRD urban cluster is outstanding in per capita indicators, ranking 1st in GDP per capita and fiscal income per capita. The scale of import and export ranks 2nd after YRD urban cluster.
In future, the PRD should re-position in the global system and promote division of labour among cities in PRD for mutual benefit. PRD should develop into a top metropolitan region in the world. Hong Kong will be the dragon-head and the primary centre of this metropolitan region mainly developing advanced service industries such as financial and logistics industries. Hong Kong and Shenzhen are twin cities. Shenzhen will be the world-class science and technology centre mainly developing high-technology. Guangzhou will be the secondary centre of this metropolitan region developing advanced manufacturing and medium level service industries. Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Macau and Zhuhai will be bases of modern manufacturing and services industries.
4. Remarks on the Result of Urban Competitiveness Study
Prof. Yue-man Yeung and Prof. Jianfa Shen from Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies/Dept of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong commented on the result of urban competitiveness study on the press conference.
Prof. Yeung pointed out that the 2008 report has two breakthroughs. First, 33 urban clusters are compared including YRD, PRD, Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan, Shandong Peninsula, central and south Liaoning, West Strait and west Taiwan urban clusters. Second, 26 city pairs are compared in urban competitiveness. Familiar city pairs include Shanghai/Hong Kong, Hangzhou/Ningbo and Shenzhen/Guangzhou. The basic condition, difference, similarity and urban competition strategies are compared for each city pair. A city’s strength and weakness are revealed using tables and graphs. As China’s urbanization advances 1% a year, the report provides theoretical and empirical evidences to the formation of development policies of China.
Prof. Shen commented that Hong Kong is strong in many domains of urban competitiveness. But Shanghai is catching up Hong Kong quickly. The comprehensive competitiveness of YRD urban cluster already overtook PRD urban cluster. There is need to enhance and consolidate the cooperation between Hong Kong and PRD cities. Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation plays an important role. The results of 2008 public opinion survey of research project “Inter-city Competition and Cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in the 11th Five-year Plan Period” revealed that 69.8% of respondents support the development of Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis. A consensus on developing Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis is emerging. 73.7% of the respondents agree that government should increase investment in cross-boundary infrastructure. Close to half of the respondents agree that Shenzhen residents should be allowed to study, travel and do business in Hong Kong more easily, and Shenzhen residents with tertiary education should be allowed to work in Hong Kong.
Concluding the press conference, Ms Karen Tang, Executive Director of Better Hong Kong Foundation commented that “Hong Kong is ranked top among all cities in China in three consecutive years indicating strong competitiveness of Hong Kong. However to maintain its competitiveness Hong Kong has to work with other cities in PRD, to achieve further developments for the whole region. To strengthen urban competitiveness, Hong Kong should also strengthen infrastructure in transportation, communication, and industrial and commercial sectors, expand the scope of financial services to consolidate Hong Kong’s role as the financial centre of Asia.”
For more details of the report, please visit: http://www.betterhongkong.org/media.php?lang=EN&maincat=2&year=2008
Click here for photos of the event.
For enquiries, please contact Miss Karen Tang of The Better Hong Kong Foundation, Tel: (852) 2865 2320.