TNAG-2792-FCO40-4031-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-China-1993 — Page 140

1 Introduction

Purpose of the Report

1.1 As required in the Study Brief, this report (together with the mapping and study data base which are being submitted under separate cover) provides a comprehensive understanding of Hong Kong's primary hinterland, with details of the current disposition of urban and rural land uses and existing and planned infrastructure. The report also provides an indication of “the scale and pace of economic growth and related urban development" in Guangdong.

1.2

(a)

(b)

As part of this process the report:

highlights the processes of change that are driving the economy and provision of infrastructure in Guangdong;

provides background information that might be used to improve the coordination of infrastructure between Guangdong and Hong Kong (thereby, minimising infrastructure conflicts and maximising economic development opportunities); and

(c)

should usefully contribute to the debate on the future role of Hong Kong particularly as regards its relationships with Guangdong.

1.3 The report is the culmination of the work required for Stage I of the Study.

1.4 Although this stage of the Study has been mainly a data collection excercise and an examination of development trends, the report is not just a collection of facts. The discussions are based on theoretically informed analyses of economic and spatial development in the province.

Background to the Study

Economic Development

1.5 The recent economic growth of Guangdong has been dramatic. During the 1980s the province grew at an average annual rate of 13 per cent, meaning that the economy doubled in size every six years. No other province in China has recorded growth rates of this magnitude. Indeed during the 1980s, the economy of Guangdong grew faster than any other national economy in Asia's recent history, including those of Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong during their

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KLAYSI

SOUTH CHINA SEA

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Consultant's 1:1,000,000 mapping of Guangdong Province

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Intamational boundary.

Provincial boundary

Muncipal boundETY

Canty boundary

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Other city or major vatan