Consultancy Study on Socio-Economic-Political Trends in Pan-Pearl River Delta Region
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CONSULTANCY STUDY ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC-POLITICAL TRENDS IN PAN-PEARL RIVER DELTA REGION ELEVENTH MONTHLY REPORT PART I COVERING FUJIAN, JIANGXI, HUNAN, AND HAINAN SEPTEMBER 2005 CENTRAL POLICY UNIT HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION Socio-Economic-Political Trends in Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hainan (11th Monthly Report) - 2 - Socio-Economic-Political Trends in Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hainan (11th Monthly Report) Table of Contents I. Executive Summary ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5 II. Topical Analysis --------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 “Pan-PRD Cultural and Technological Cooperation and Exchange: Opportunities for Hong Kong” Part One: South-eastern Region Strengthening Cultural Exchange and Cooperation in the Pan-PRD ----- 10 Fujian Competitive Sports Market Has Yet to be Developed -------------- 17 Jiangxi Enhances Its Technological Innovativeness ------------------------- 21 Hunan Strengthens Its Cultural Industry -------------------------------------- 26 Hainan Develops Distinctive Sports Industry -------------------------------- 31 III. Trends and Updates on the Four South-eastern Provinces ------------------- 35 Fujian Strictly Controls SOEs Extension into Side Businesses ------------ 36 Fujian Builds Its Stone Industrial Cluster ------------------------------------- 38 Nanchang City Encourages Entrepreneurship -------------------------------- 40 Jiangxi to the development of Its Commodities Market -------------------- 42 Hunan’s Software Industry Seeking Breakthrough ------------------------- 44 Hunan Builds Modern Logistics Centre -------------------------------------- 46 Economic Development Trends of Hainan in the First Half of 2005 ------ 48 Hainan Activates Development of Experimental Industrial Enclave ------ 50 Memorabilia of Pan-PRD Regional Cooperation ----------------------------- 52 - 3 - Socio-Economic-Political Trends in Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hainan (11th Monthly Report) Table of Contents (continued) IV. Data and Trends ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 57 Fujian ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 58 Jiangxi ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 59 Hunan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 60 Hainan --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 61 Major Economic Indicators of Nine Pan-PRD Provinces/Region (Jan-Jun 2005) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 62 Nine Pan-PRD Provinces/Region: 10-Year Economic Trend (1995-2004) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 63 Nine Pan-PRD Provinces/Region: Statistics at a Glance (2004) ---------- 64 V. English-Chinese Glossary of Terms ----------------------------------------------- 67 - 4 - Socio-Economic-Political Trends in Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hainan (11th Monthly Report) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Since its reform and opening up, the Mainland economy has sustained healthy development. In 2003, China’s per capita GDP exceeded US$1,000. Based on the experience of other countries, when per capita GDP exceeds this level, people not only look for better material life in terms of clothing, food, accommodation, transportation, communication, hygiene, and living environment, etc., but also demand higher quality mental life in terms of culture and art, news and publishing, broadcasting, film and television, sports and recreation. With this change comes a shift in the focus of consumption of the society towards cultural aspects. Based on some experts’ estimates, the consumption demand for China’s cultural needs will reach Rmb2,010 billion in 2010, whereas in 2004 the actual spending of China’s urban and rural residents on cultural and leisure products and services was only Rmb640 billion. This reflects a wide room for expansion in the market of cultural industries. 2. The Pan-PRD region spans a wide area and in the course of its long history, the region has developed a wide variety of culture and arts, setting a solid foundation for the development of cultural industries. The diverse and colourful cultural contents, together with the constituents’ proximity in geographical locations, similarities in cultural background, and a long history of close linkages, are factors for further cooperation within the region. In order to fully mobilise the cultural resources, and further foster the cultural industries, heads of cultural departments from the nine Pan-PRD provinces/region and the two SARs of Hong Kong and Macao gathered together in Guangzhou for the first “Pan-PRD Cultural Cooperation Conference” on July 29, 2004, to discuss the prospects and opportunities of cultural cooperation. 3. After the first “Pan-PRD Cultural Cooperation Conference”, efforts have been strengthened to promote cultural cooperation, leading to the successful launching of a number of large-scale activities to promote Pan-PRD cultural exchanges. Among these activities were “An Excellent Match – Exhibition of Pan-PRD’s Essential Relics” which featured regional cultural relics, the “Pan-PRD Motor Rally Competition” which travelled across the Pan-PRD region, the “South China Book Fest 2005” which exhibited the images of cooperation in the Pan-PRD publishing industry, the “Guangdong International Tourism & Culture Festival 2005” which highlighted the images of Pan-PRD travelling and related tourism products, etc. All these activities demonstrated the unique cultural resources of the Pan-PRD constituents, and have played a significant role in promoting cultural development in the region. 4. An important trend in the current development of cultural industries is an increasing application of economics into the industries, i.e., highlighting the commercial content of culture and turning it into an engine for propelling economic growth. With the - 5 - Socio-Economic-Political Trends in Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hainan (11th Monthly Report) integration of economics and culture, cultural industries have exerted increasingly significant influences on the development of the economy. Social resources and wealth tend to accumulate in countries and regions that enjoy cultural advantages. To excel in the ongoing competition among the Mainland’s regional economies, the Pan-PRD needs to rely on concerted developments between its culture and economy. By strengthening cultural exchange and cooperation within the region and optimising resource allocation, the Pan-PRD will be able to reap the benefits that cultural industries can contribute to economic development. 5. Although Fujian’s sporting goods industry has experienced rapid growth, the province’s development in the fields of competitive sports and sports performances lags very much behind. To expand its sports industry, the province needs to find a breakthrough in competitive sports. As commercial merchandise for entertainment, competitive sports can trigger the public’s interest in sports, create a group of sports fans, and lead to the development of an entire chain of sports-related industries such as sports media, sports lottery, sporting goods, etc. By organising large-scale events, competitive sports can even spur the development of urban construction and tourism. Hong Kong businesses with intention of tapping the Mainland market should take note of the development in Fujian’s competitive sports market and find development potentials from there. 6. The capacity for technological innovation determines a region’s development in science and technology. It is also an important basis to support economic growth. At present, the main objectives of Jiangxi’s science and technology-related tasks are to meet the needs of the province in economic development. The province should continuously strengthen its capacity for independent technological innovation, and develop a new technological system for the enterprises, with the support of the government and cooperation between industries with academics. This would help to speed up the transformation of technological research results into actual products, upgrade the industries and improve their overall competitiveness. While Jiangxi strengthens its capability for independent technological innovation, the province will also seek to cooperate and share its resources with parties outside the province including Hong Kong, and to promote coordination and cooperation with them in technological research projects. This will allow both sides to step up their technological standards. Opportunities herewith are worth the attention of Hong Kong businesses. 7. In order to cope with the increasing competition that arises from the further opening up of China’s cultural market after its entry to the WTO, Hunan has made it clear that it would speed up the development of its cultural industries. It will strive to raise the contribution of cultural industries to GDP to 7% by 2010. As an important carrier of modern services industries, the cultural industries are highly related to other sectors. As such, they exert significant influence on the development of the economy. As the Pan-PRD regional - 6 - Socio-Economic-Political Trends in Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hainan (11th Monthly Report) economic cooperation framework has been