Guangdong will work with eight neighboring provinces and regions to establish an even greater Pearl River Delta region, or the pan-Pearl River Delta area.

Details were released by Zhang Dejiang, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the provincial CPC Committee.

"Guangdong, combining its strength with that of Hong Kong and Macao, has become the most prospective region in the world," Zhang said at a meeting with 21 foreign advisers of the Guangdong governor Monday.

Zhang said this prospect profile would be further raised if Guangdong's cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao was expanded to include eight surrounding provinces and regions.

The eight provinces and regions are Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou.

Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua described the potential for enhanced cooperation among these provinces and regions as tremendous because they had complementary advantages and huge resources. Their combined GDP accounts for one third of China's total.

Zhang described Guangdong's Pearl River Delta area as China's most dynamic economic powerhouse. He also thought the greater Pearl River Delta area, with Hong Kong and Macao included, was the world's fastest-growing region with the greatest potential.

"While Hong Kong is well-placed to be a world financial and tertiary industry center, it is quite possible that Guangdong will become the world's center for the manufacturing industry," he said.

The province would strengthen its rule of law, step up its management of market order and infrastructure construction, further enforce preservation of environment, and improve government administration, he said.

Zhang told the foreign advisers that the province planned to double its per capita GDP by 2010 compared with the figures for 2000 and that by 2020 it would be quadrupled over the 2000 figure.

(Shenzhen Daily November 4, 2003)