"Bay area development begins with globalization and depends on high-degree openness," said PAN Jiaofeng, president of the Institutes of Science and Development (CASISD) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, at the First Global Bay Area Forum held on 11-12 January, 2020. The theme of the Forum was "Development of the Bay Area and the World".

The strategy of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) was proposed after the introduction of the development strategies of Hangzhou Bay Area and Bohai Bay Area. “It suggests a set of new measures of China to further open up to the world and to embrace globalization,” said PAN.

From a global perspective, 60% of the world economic growth is actually contributed by the bay areas of various countries, including the New York Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area, Tokyo Bay Area, etc., which have become the new engines of the global economy and the main driving forces for technological development.

The bays in the world are highly interconnected and share supply chains, people, and ideas about management, therefore, it is of great importance to relate the distinctive qualities of various bays with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and globalization. “We can make the country, company and people more prosperous if we can understand it better,” said William Overholt, a senior research fellow at Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government, Harvard.

DUAN Peijun, the academic leader for the strategy studies in the National School of Administration and founder of the philosophy of strategy in China, said the bay areas should locate at the forefront to promote globalization serving as the strongest driving force and the most convenient path, due to the free and open economy with greater independence, representing the innovation and systematization of regional economic factors.

Experts from the U.S. emphasized the vital role of infrastructure investments and policy coordination over the individual projects, regarding to their construction experience of the Los Angeles Airport, and the current successful bays benefits much from their high quality infrastructure and ports.

"It is necessary to review the experiences and laws of bay area development in terms of industry, education & culture, trade, finance and innovation, in order to analyze the relationship among businesses, social organizations, and governments in economic development of bay areas," PAN said.

The forum was co-hosted by CASISD, National School of Administration, Chinese Association of Development Strategy Studies, International Cooperation Center of National Development and Reform Commission of China, Strategic Research Institute of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. And the Articles of Organization Committee of Global Bay Area Forum were discussed and adopted. The Global Bay Area Forum will be held as a brand with a series of routine events in future aiming at making substantial and sustainable contributions to global bay area development.