Ladies and gentlemen,

Today marks the opening of the first Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum. With the theme of "Prosperity through Partnership", Governors and Chairmen from the nine provinces, Chief Executives of the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, officials from relevant departments of the Central Government, and celebrities from enterprises and academic fields gather in Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Oriental, to enhance the cooperation and development of Pan-Pearl River Delta regions. This is a milestone which signifies the commencement of regional cooperation. May I take this opportunity to congratulate all on the organisation of the Forum. I would also like to welcome all the ladies and gentlemen and friends attending the Forum.

At present, the fast development of information technology results in a global revolution of new technologies which in turn significantly increases productivity. The wide application of new technologies, the launch of new products, the mode of production, the mode of exchange, the mode of consumption, and even economic and social development are undergoing great changes.

The new technology revolution pushes a series of restructures of production industries globally, an expansion of international investments, and an enhancement of inter-national coopeartion, giving a boost to the development of economic globalisation. Economic globalisation, with new technology revolution as one of its internal drives, has become a leading trend.

However, the road to economic globalisation is never smooth. Since many differences exist concerning the development conditions and levels of different places, there may be different understandings on economic globalisation. Different parties will also have different requirements regarding their own benefits. These lead to a great diversity in some major issues. Therefore, economic globalisation is a necessary but time-taking process. The failure of Doha negotiation is one of such evidence.

Under such circumstances, cooperation between regions with similar geographical locations, cultures and interests begins. It is a practical choice for the members in the region to become a party in the economic globalisation, to increase competitiveness and to enhance development. In recent years, entities such as European Union, North American Free Trading Zone and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expand continuously. The higher standards indicate a bright future for regional cooperation. Upon the recent expansion of European Union, it has become a large economic entity with 25 nations, a population of 450 million, an area of nearly 4 million square kilometres and a total capital of 10 trillion US dollars. It is certainly a very important force of the whole world.

Ladies and gentlemen.

After the reform of our country, our economic development has made significant progress globally. From 1978 to 2003, the gross domestic productivity of our country increased from 147.3 billion US dollars to over 1.4 trillion US dollars, an average annual increase of 9.4%. Its total import/ export quantity last year was 851.2 billion US dollars and its foreign exchange reserves reached 403.3 billion US dollars. Our country's economic quantity is already the seventh of the world and its import/ export quantity the fourth. In this remarkable historical progress, the fast development of the Mainland economy is one of the greatest drives. Currently, the three major economic zones, namely, Changjiang River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Bohai Sea Region, become the lead of China's economic growth.

Guangdong begins regional cooperation at an early stage. At present, it has become part of the Pan-Pearl River Delta region, which also comprises Hong Kong and Macau, and brought business opportunities as well as concrete benefits to the three areas. In 2003, the gross domestic productivity of Guangdong increases from RMB 18.5 billion in 1978 to RMB 1.345 trillion, an average annual growth of 13.4%. Its import/ export transaction quantity has reached 283.6 billion US dollars. Guangdong's gross domestic productivity, tax income, actual foreign investment and total import/ export quantity are one-ninth, one-seventh, a quarter and one-third of the global amount respectively. The target of Guangdong in the future 20 years has been confirmed - a gross domestic productivity per capita of over 3,450 US dollars in 2010, much higher than that of 2000; a gross domestic productivity per capita of over 7,000 US dollars in 2020, even higher than that of 2010; a stable and wealthy society; consolidation of socialism. Under the current development trend, Guangdong is confident in achieving these aims.

Guangdong's development goes hands in hands with Hong Kong and Macau. After China's reform, Guangdong has been actively accommodating the asset transfer from Hong Kong and Macau, establishing an interactive relations in which production is located in the north while sales are carried out in the south. The accumulated foreign investment of the province amounts to 176.5 billion US dollars, of which over 70% are from Hong Kong and Macau. Nearly 80 thousand enterprises from the two regions were established in Guangdong. Most of its imports and exports are either directly related to or via Hong Kong. 80% of tourists coming to Guangdong are from Hong Kong and Macau; many enterprises in Guangdong get in touch with the world through Hong Kong and Macau; the two regions also bring advanced technology, useful management experience and market information to the province. Large amount of donations are also made by Hong Kong and Macau to Guangdong for its education, science, culture and hygiene. It could be said that Guangdong could never have such development without the help from Hong Kong and Macau. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Hong Kong and Macau people on behalf of 790 billion Guangdong citizens.

Similarly, the development of Hong Kong and Macau cannot be severed from Guangdong. In the 25 years between 1978 and 2003, Hong Kong's gross domestic productivity increased from 356 billion HK dollars to 1.361 trillion dollars. Its status as a financial, communication and logistics centre has been confirmed. Hong Kong's prosperity, China's reform and Guangdong's fast development are inter-connected and cannot be separated. Over more than 20 years, 80% of Hong Kong's manufacture industry has explored further development in Guangdong. The industry has made good use of the resources and the beneficial policies in the Mainland and succeeded in its expansion and upgrade. On the other hand, more than 70% of Hong Kong's logistics are from Guangdong. The city's fast development in services industry is directly related to Guangdong's manufacture industry. In these few years, over half of the Mainland travellers in Hong Kong and Macau are from Guangdong. The average number of cross-border vehicles is 42 thousands daily and that of people is 477 thousands. This shows the close connection of Hong Kong and Macau's development with Guangdong. Macau has also got fruitful results through various economic and social cooperation with Guangdong, which in turn brings prosperity to Macau.

CEPA, which has been implemented since 2004, brings new opportunities to Pan-Pearl River Delta cooperation. The Governments of the three regions highly recognise the cooperation and establish the principle of "looking forward, considering all parties, being practical and seeking mutual benefits". The objectives, scope, projects and measures of the cooperation have also been confirmed. The cooperation among the three regions will be enhanced, hoping that, within 10 to 20 years, Guangdong will become an important manufacture centre in the world; Hong Kong will become an international commercial service centre for logistics and finance; and Macau will become a gambling tourist centre and regional commercial service platform. Together, we will make Pan-Pearl River Delta become one of the most prosperous and vivid economic centres. Now, areas like basic facilities, services industry, port, Guangdong residents' travels to Hong Kong and Macau and co-promotion of Pearl River Delta is making progress and the traditional mode where production is located in the north while sales are carried out in the south is becoming more and more systematic.

It has been proven that Hong Kong and Macau have established a close and inter-dependent relationship with the Mainland, especially Guangdong.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Under the background of economic globalisation, our country and ASEAN will establish a China-ASEAN Free Trading Zone, actively encouraging cooperation within Asia. Hong Kong and Macau should further create their radiant effects, leading to greater development and prosperity. To adapt to the new requirements of the latest development, Pearl River Delta has to depend on the new development platform. For those provinces near to ASEAN and Pearl River Delta, if they would like to be involved in the competition to attain further development, they have to explore partnerships which are mutually beneficial and could result in a win-win situation. Thus, several provinces, Hong Kong and Macau, which are closely connected in terms of location, culture, and economy, inevitably formed a kind of cooperation relationship with mutual benefits. Because of this, since Guangdong proposed the idea of Pan-Pearl River Delta cooperation in July, the other eight provinces, Hong Kong and Macau have responded actively that they are keen to participate in the process. Such consensus leads to a series of agreements being reached. The Central Government encourages active exploration and all the relevant departments will give support and concrete guidance to the project.

In terms of connection with Pearl River, vicinity to Pearl River Delta, and close economic and commercial relationships, areas in Pan-Pearl River Delta Region includes nine provinces, namely, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Xichuan, Gueizhou, Yunnan, and two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao. For convenience, it could be known as "9 plus 2". The total area of the nine provinces is about two million square kilometres which is 20.9% of China. The total population is 450 million, which is 34.8% of China. The gross domestic productivity is RMB 3.88 trillion, which is 33.3% of China. Coupled with the economic features and strengths of the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, the critical position of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region is obvious.

The advantages of Pan-Pearl River Delta regional cooperation mainly come from the large variations in the types of industries in these areas and yet their highly complementary nature. The Region does not only involve economic features from the eastern, central and western parts of China, but also comprise the uniqueness of "One Country, Two Systems": It includes Hong Kong, which is an internationally well-known logistics and financial centre as well as an important communication point. It also includes Macau which has close economic connection with European Union and Portugese countries. It accommodates Guangdong, which is a crucial base of the manufacture industry of the country. It also accommodates the rich resources and technological experts and professionals of the eight provinces. It has the strengths of the Pearl River Delta's market, capital, technology and communication. It also has the complement of various industries from the eight provinces. Such cooperation is beneficial to the implementation of CEPA, the development of Hong Kong's financial, aviation, tourism and services industries, the development of Macau's tourism and other industries, as well as the prosperity and stability of the Special Administrative Regions. It is beneficial to the visualisation of significant scientific development proposed by the Central Government and the co-ordination among the eastern, central and western parts of China. It is also beneficial to the better allocation of resources of "9 plus 2" so as to increase competitiveness of the areas. Last but not least, it is beneficial to the increase in the country's level of openness, further enhancing the development of China-ASEAN Free Trading Zone.

We are pleased to see that there is already a good foundation and positive beginning of Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional cooperation. The cooperation involves areas like commerce, transport, energy, education, tourism, agriculture and so on. A number of regional economic cooperation organisations have been established. Investments and commercial cooperations are being enhanced. The environment for the implementation of policies regarding regional cooperation is further improved. Since the ninth "5-year plan", the amount involved in the agreements signed between Guangdong and the eight provinces has been over RMB 600 million with the total number of projects over ten thousands. In April this year, the amount involved in the agreement signed between Yueguei and Yueshuang reached RMB 84.4 million. It is expected that the future will even be brighter with further cooperation.

To support Pan-Pearl River Delta cooperation, we have to stick to the principle of complementing one another and looking for mutual benefits. We also have to get along with the mode of development of the market and start with concrete projects. We will follow the rules of regional economic development, enhance the essential conditions for production, have a better allocation of resources, improve the environment for investments, increase the quantity of economic movements and increase the competitiveness of the region, creating a new brand of regional cooperation.

To push Pan-Pearl River Delta regional cooperation one step forward, it is essential to enhance the establishment of the mechanism for cooperation. We should be committed to setting up a common goal, a flexible co-ordination and an efficient co-operating system. Further, it is crucial to establish a system of association involving "9 plus 2" governors and chief executives, discuss coooperation plans, and enhance cooperation and development together. Other initiatives are establishing a system of principal secretaries in the governments and a system for inter-department co-ordination, encouraging public cultural interchange, maximising the functions of enterprises and those of various associations and commercial organisations. In addition, we should be active in the creation of a cooperation platform by establishing "Pan-Pearl River Delta Cooperation and Development Forum" as a regular event, which is to be held annually. "Pan-Pearl River Delta Cooperation and Development" meeting should also be held every year, co-ordinated by one of the provinces or special administrative regions in turns. With all these initiatives, we could envisage comprehensive mechanisms to ensure protection, reasonable benefits and high-quality consultation.

To further push Pan-Pearl River Delta regional cooperation, we have to expand and deepen the areas of cooperation. We now have to grasp the following opportunities tight. First, to make further effort for the implementation of CEPA so that there will be breakthroughs in services industries and new progress in cross-boundary infrastructure projects. Second, to further enhance the cooperation concerning infrastructure such as transport, energy and waters so that a comprehensive transport network will exist, leading to the unification of transport in the whole region. Third, to concentrate on economic and commercial cooperation, to co-ordinate various government services, to encourage wider and different types of cooperation. Fourth, to speed up the unification of market under the guidance of our country in order to create an open and fair market. Fifth, to establish regional environmental protection policies and relevant co-ordination mechanisms so that economic growth, environmental protection and sustainability can be ensured.

For an effective Pan-Pearl River Delta cooperation, we have to be practical and grasp every opportunity for concrete projects. To make our focus clear, to implement the plan in stages, to enhance co-ordination, and finally, to ensure the cooperation projects will be fruitful.

Guangdong, as one of the members in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Cooperation, will certainly be committed to relevant responsibilities and duties in order to maximise its functions in the whole plan. Guangdong will also be active in enhancing its cooperation with other provinces and show our full support to Hong Kong and Macau.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Pan-Pearl River Delta regional cooperation gives us a precious opportunity we have never had in history. We believe fruitful results will be achieved by Pan-Pearl River Delta regional cooperation with our hard work and commitment. Let us go hands in hands to create a better world in the future!

Thank you very much!