CONFIDENTIAL #B
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the SSEZ.
As the per capita GDP of Hong Kong is expected to grow at about 5% p.a. in real terms in the next fifteen
years, the SSEZ's GDP per capita would have to grow at
about 22% p.a. in real terms over the same period to catch Hong Kong up. It is extremely unlikely that a growth rate
of this order is feasible.
29.
Apart from narrowing income differentials,
de-emphasizing the significance of the existing
The
international boundary between Hong Kong and the SSEZ could also help to draw the two places closer together. One important step in this direction taken by the Chinese authorities is the erection of control facilities along
the 86-km-long fenced frontier to the north of the SSEZ which separates it from other parts of Baoan County. northern frontier can be expected to serve two practical purposes; preventing people from other parts of China crowding into the SSEZ and stopping imported goods, which are given preferential customs treatment in the SSEZ,
penetrating in an uncontrolled manner into other parts of China. This will further enhance the SSEZ's image of being a very special part of China with an economic system which is more similar to that of Hong Kong (capitalist) than that of the rest of China (socialist). With the northern frontier coming into operation, the Chinese authorities evidently hope that the entry/exit procedures between Hong Kong and the SSEZ can be further simplified. This would greatly facilitate cross-border movements by traders, industrialists and tourists.
30.
As a consequence of rapid growth in the number of trips to China made by Hong Kong residents (paragraph 21), the Lo Wu check-points have been under pressure for
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