The politics of regional cooperation in the Greater Pearl River Delta

Abstract

This paper examines the interactions between subnational governments in influencing the Chinese national state in economic and spatial planning by focusing on two cases in south China, namely the pursuit of a new reform and development plan by Guangdong province in 2008 and Hong Kong's effort to position itself in China's 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP). The intergovernmental dynamics inside the Greater Pearl River Delta (PRD) can be interpreted as the policy advocacy and coordination of entrepreneurial local states in a fragmented, authoritarian polity. Guangdong province actively pursued central approval of the PRD's regional plan because central support is critical not only for approving specific projects but also for steering its development direction and providing a policy tool to impose coordination plans in order to achieve better regional coordination and resource allocation inside the Delta. The province has skilfully leveraged on Hong Kong to get central approval and delegation of power over pilot measures regarding Guangdong-Hong Kong economic cooperation. Similarly, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government's efforts to secure a privileged position for Hong Kong in the 12th FYP can be considered as a competitive positioning strategy in view of growing competition within the PRD and from other regions. © 2012 Victoria University of Wellington.

本文研究大珠三角地方政府间互动及中央政府在经济和空间规划的影响，并集中分析华南地区的两个案例——广东省政府于2008-2009年间提出改革和发展规划，以及香港争取中央政府在“国民经济和社会发展第十二个五年规划纲要”对其作出重要定位。大珠三角地方政府间的互动，可以被解读为在分割的权威体制下，具有企业型行为模式的地方政府对政策的推动和协调。广东省主动寻求中央政府批准珠三角发展和改革规划纲要，并非只为争取它对几个特定政策的支持。更重要的是，广东省政府旨在利用中央的支持推动本省所订立的政策和发展方向。中央支持更成为省政府的政策工具，使其能对珠三角内部的规划进行协调部署，从而实现更佳的区域合作与资源配置。广东省策略性地与香港联手争取中央支持，推动粤港经济合作的先行先试措施以及向省政府下放权力。同样地，香港特别行政区政府亦争取中央政府在第十二个五年规划中，对香港作出有利的定位。这可被视为香港在珠三角内外竞争不断加剧的环境中, 所采取的一种策略性行动。