Sino-US relations are not broken through fighting. Biden's China policy is not as tough as Trump's, but he is more active in wooing allies to counter China. The previous export blockade on dual-use technology remains in effect, and US sensitive technology companies will also be subject to scrutiny if they want to operate in China. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is the locomotive of China's technological innovation and has suffered greatly. However, the San Francisco Bay Area, which also focuses on high-tech fields, has also been implicated, and numerous foreign investment plans have been stalled. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a platform for opening up to the outside world, and foreign investment participation is particularly important. As the official strategic space becomes increasingly narrow, how do the American business community and the public view the development of the Greater Bay Area?
The Economic Research Institute of the Bay Area Council recently published a report analyzing the role and significance of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to them. With nearly 200 years of immigration since the gold rush, the San Francisco Bay Area is a gathering place for overseas Chinese in the United States, and business exchanges will not stop. In their eyes, Shenzhen will develop into Silicon Valley, the technology center of San Francisco, while Hong Kong is equivalent to the metropolitan area of San Francisco, serving as corporate headquarters, financial and business service center, and the first port of call for international tourists. Macroscopically, San Francisco Bay Area companies have invested overseas in the past ten years. They have mainly set up regional headquarters or regional offices in Hong Kong, and established R&D centers and data centers in Guangdong Province. Although it is becoming increasingly easier for foreign businesses to enter the Chinese mainland market, they still value Hong Kong as a service platform that operates in accordance with the rules.
San Francisco Bay Area companies interested in investing in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao are most likely to participate in the following three areas of cooperation: 1. Intellectual property risks are low; 2. Open source technologies that can be shared with the public; 3. Innovations with social benefits. Specifically, the industries that have the greatest potential to promote cooperation in the Bay Area are climate change (such as greenhouse gas emission reduction, planning and design for coastal protection), clean energy (such as energy efficiency, zero-emission fuel), and medical services (such as home robots) , remote diagnosis), electric and autonomous vehicles (such as R&D and testing), biomedicine (such as treatment, clinical testing) and financial technology (such as lending and insurance, payment and settlement).
Despite the ups and downs of the international situation, San Francisco and Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao still have areas of mutually beneficial scientific and technological cooperation. The manufacturing capabilities of the Pearl River Delta are difficult to replace in the global production chain, and Shenzhen can attract American start-ups for commercialization and mass production. Hong Kong's legal system, intellectual property protection, cosmopolitan life and English-speaking environment remain the first choice for foreign companies and management to conduct business activities. The development of the Greater Bay Area cannot be without Hong Kong's financial services, capital markets and university scientific research. The report believes that the national security law will not have much impact on Hong Kong's status as a commercial center for the time being, but in the long run, China must continue to maintain Hong Kong's role as an intermediary and maintain openness. Only through transparent economic activities can the Greater Bay Area enter the global business map.
