VII. Promotion of Coordinate Regional Development

In accordance with the position of the Pearl River Delta among the major functional regions of the country, the spatial deployment of development in the Delta will be optimized. With Guangzhou and Shenzhen as the centers and the eastern and western banks of the Pearl River as the essential parts, the Pearl River Delta will push forward its regional economic integration, and help the surrounding areas to develop faster. This will bring a new pattern of coordinate development that enables optimal configuration of resource factors and full play of local advantages.

1. Exert Demonstration Role of Major Cities

Guangzhou will have a fully play of its advantages as the provincial capital, strengthen its role in conglomerating high-end elements, technological innovation, cultural leadership, and comprehensive service, further optimize its functional zoning and industrial layout, and development into the core of the one-hour ride metropolitan area of the Pearl River Delta. The city will prioritize the development of high-end service industries, speed up the construction of advanced manufacturing bases, energetically advance its capabilities of independent innovation, and take the lead in setting up a modern industrial system. It will amass greater cultural and soft strengths, increase its comprehensive competitive force, underpin its status as the major city of the nation, comprehensive gateway city, and regional cultural and educational center, and play a stronger exemplar role. The effect arising from the seamless integration of Guangzhou and Foshan into a whole metropolis will be intensified in forging the Pearl River Delta into a rationally distributed, well-functioning, and close-knit urban cluster. Guangzhou will be developed into the "Best District" among the inhabitable urban and rural areas of Guangdong and an international metropolis that embraces the world and serves the whole country. Shenzhen will continue to play its role as the window of the special economic zones, an experimental field, and an demonstration area, strengthen its functions in research and development and high-end services, solidify its status as a national economic center and a national-level innovative city, and develop into a city exemplifying the socialism with Chinese characteristics and an international city.

2. Optimize Functional Layout of Eastern Bank of Pearl River Mouth

The eastern bank of the Pearl River mouth, with Shenzhen as the core and Dongguan and Huizhou as major nodes, will optimize the structure of its population, improve the efficient of land use, raise the levels of comprehensive urban services, facilitate the conglomeration of productive factors and intensive development, strengthen the capabilities of independent innovation, cooperate with the outside world to realize a higher level of internationalization, serve the whole country to create new room for development, and advance its core competitiveness and demonstrative influence. Efforts will be made to develop Shenzhen into a base of advanced manufacturing industries and hi-tech industries, including communications equipment, biological engineering, new materials, and automotives using new energy. Dongguan will speed up the transformation and upgrade of its manufacturing industries, and establish Lake Songshan Technology Industrial Park. Huizhou will actively foster its port-related basic industries, and develop into a base of petrochemical industries. The eastern bank of the Pearl River mouth will accelerate the development of the manufacturing of high-end electronics and information products, and forge a world-class base of electronics and information industries. This area will vigorously develop modern service industries including finance, convention and exhibition, logistics, science and technology services, and cultural and creative services, push forward the optimization and upgrade of its industrial structure, and develop into a regional center of services and innovation.

3. Elevate Developmental Levels of Western Bank of Pearl River Mouth

The western bank of the Pearl River mouth, with Zhuhai as the center and Foshan, Jiangmen, Zhongshan, and Zhaoqing as the main nodes, will enhance its capabilities of agglomerating population and industries, play a stronger function of assembling productive factors and serving production, and optimize its urban system and industrial distribution. Zhuhai will fully tap its advantage as a special economic zone and its geographical advantage, expedite the construction of transportation infrastructure, grow into the transportation hub on the western bank of the Pearl River mouth at an early time, enhance its functions in the conglomeration and development of high-end elements and innovative development, enhance its core competitive strength, increase its capability of boosting the development of peripheral areas, develop into a modern regional urban center and an ecological and new special economic zone, and try to develop into an demonstration city of scientific development. The city will accelerate the development of Gaolan Port Industrial Area, the ocean engineering and equipment manufacturing base, the aviation industrial park, and the international business recreation and tourism resort. The other key projects for the development of the western bank also include Foshan's concentration area for the machinery and equipment industry and the new-type flat panel display industry and its district of financial services, the base of port-front equipment manufacturing, fine chemicals, and healthcare industries in Zhongshan, the key area for advanced manufacturing industries in Jiangmen, and the concentration area for the transformation and upgrade of the advantageous traditional industries in Zhaoqing. The western bank of the Pearl River mouth will pursue scale development of advanced manufacturing industries, vigorously develop the production-oriented service industries, expand and enhance the dominant industries, shape a number of internationally competitive industry clusters, and develop into a new pole of economic growth.

4. Advance Regional Economic Integration of Pearl River Delta

Following the principles of governmental endorsement, market dominance, resource sharing, mutual enhancement, coordinate development, and win-win cooperation, the 9 cities in the Pearl River Delta will override the obstacles imposed by the administrative system, and innovate the cooperative mechanisms and optimize their resource configuration. The region will formulate the plan for the integrated development of the Pearl River Region. And the region will explore the administrative system, financial system, and assessment and commending system conducive to the integrated development. Under the unified leadership and coordination of the provincial government, the cities will establish the multi-stratum cooperation mechanisms participated by cities, departments, enterprises, and other social forces. Following the example of Guangzhou-Foshan integration and starting with the integration of transportation infrastructure, a situation of unified development where the urban planning is integrated, the infrastructure is commonly built and used, the industries are developed through win-win cooperation, and the public affairs are coordinately administered will be created to achieve a greater competitive power of the whole region. The urban planning will be integrated to optimize the spatial structure of the urban cluster of the Pearl River Delta. The construction of the inter-city fast rail transit system for the Pearl River Delta will be expedited, the electronic networked tolling of expressways will be implemented, the tollgates for common highways will be abolished, and the expressway tollgates will be reduced, so as to frame a unified comprehensive transportation system. The energy infrastructure will be integrated to form a unified network for natural gas conveyance and a united pipeline network for oil products, and the oil, gas and power in the whole region will have the same sources and same prices. The basic information networks will be planned integrally, the standards and practices for information exchange will be unified, and the public databases will be commonly developed and used. The industries spanning different administrative divisions will be planned in an integral way, a regional industrial development situation of staggered development and mutual complementation and enhancement will be materialized, and the concerted development of the industries will be advanced. The regional environmental monitoring and early warning system will be built through coordination, the regional collaborative prevention mechanisms will be instituted, and the air and water pollution in the region will be jointly prevented and controlled. Collaboration will be promoted in the administration of social and public affairs, and regional equality will be advanced regarding education, health, medicine, social insurance, and employment. By 2012, the integration of infrastructure and economy of the region will be preliminarily materialized. By 2020, the regional economic integration and the basic regional equality of public services will be realized.

5. Inspire Accelerated Develop of Areas Surrounding Peal River Delta

The areas surrounding the Pearl River Delta refer to the east, west, and north of Guangdong Province and the adjacent areas in neighboring provinces and regions. The influencing, serving and modeling functions of the Pearl River Deltas will be brought into full play to boost the flow of elements and the transfer of industries, develop a staggered and rational distributed industrial cluster, and form a mutually enhancing and win-win system of industry collaboration. The infrastructure construction will be intensified, the port and transportation systems will be improved, and the expressway and railway passages passing through the Pearl River Delta and connecting it with the contiguous areas will be constructed. The staggered transfer of the labor-intensive industries away from the Pearl River Delta will be encouraged. The construction of the petrochemical, steel and iron, shipbuilding, and energy production bases in eastern and western Guangdong will be accelerated to form a coastal belt of heavy and chemical industries, and the north of Guangdong will be developed into an accessory base for the advanced manufacturing industries of the Pearl River Delta. The mechanisms for the corresponding assistance of the Pearl River Delta toward the east, west and north of Guangdong will be perfected, the modes of assistance and aid will be innovated, and the "dual transfer" of both industries and labor force will be pursued. The assistance will be focused on the demonstration zones and parks for industry transfer that serve the agglomeration and development of the dominant industries in order to encourage the formation of industry clusters, and closed customs area or free-trade area under special supervision will be established within eligible zones and parks for industry transfer. The transfer of the rural population of the east, west and north of Guangdong toward cities and towns will be sped up, the local central cities will be enlarged, and new poles of economic growth will be cultivated in the east, west, and north.