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amount of Chinese investment in Hong Kong through the various PRC-controlled corporations is certainly disproportionately large in relation to the population of
Hong Kong, though not so much in relation to the size of the Hong Kong economy.
48.
The concept of a "port-hinterland relationship" may be used to describe the rapid growth in trade between Hong Kong and southern China. As mentioned in paragraph 27 above, it is often more convenient to export goods produced in the provinces in southern China through Hong Kong than through Chinese ports like Shanghai. It is notable that most of the rail cargo carried down from China comes from beyond Guangdong, and some is from provinces much further north. So this port-hinterland relationship is not confined to Guangdong or even to
southern China. The effective hinterland will be further
extended after the double-tracking of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen
Railway.
49.
The concept of a "metropolitan-fringe relationship" may be applied to Hong Kong's growing economic relations with the cities and counties in the
Pearl River Delta region, including the Shenzhen and Zhuhai Special Economic Zones. In respect of manufacturing activities, the Delta region is performing a supportive role in the form of compensation trade and outward processing arrangements, by which some relatively more labour intensive and space intensive processes are carried out in China, taking advantage of lower wage rates and cheaper land compared to those in Hong Kong. Hong Kong can thus concentrate on those products or processes which involve a higher level of skill and which require
G.F. 326
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