Pioneering work on world's four major bay areas released

A new book on the economies of the world's four major bay areas, published in both Chinese and English, was released on Saturday during the ongoing South China Book Fair in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

New Growth Engines: Bay Area Economies?is believed to be the first book to comprehensively cover the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the bay areas around New York, San Francisco and Tokyo.

The book delves into what it takes to become a world-class bay area that can act as an important engine driving the world economy, as well as offering comparisons of the four bay areas covered.

World-class bay areas excel in mustering global resources, competitiveness in products and services, establishment of international economic rules and standards, and scientific and technological innovation, said book co-author Zheng Yongnian, who is also chairman of the Guangzhou Institute of the Greater Bay Area.

The successful development of a bay area requires competent government, efficient markets and a dynamic society, he added.

One significant difference between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and other bay areas lies in the "one country, two systems" arrangement. Efforts have been made to maximize the advantage of the arrangement while pursuing integrated development and facilitating a regional common market within this Greater Bay Area.

New Growth Engines: Bay Area Economies is intended to develop new concepts and theories and serve as a reference for other economies, including those in the Global South, Zheng added.

The Chinese and English editions of the book are published by Guangdong People's Publishing House and Springer Nature Group respectively.