Xinhua Agency, Hong Kong/Guangzhou, July 6Title: The flow of talents in the Greater Bay Area's "north and south" writes a new chapter of "two-way rush"

Xinhua Agency reporters Yu Lizhen, Liang Jiajun, Li Sijia

Since the issuance of the "Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" in 2019, countless people have found their own stage in the hot land of the Greater Bay Area, from Hong Kong youths who "go north" to start businesses to mainland talents who "go south" to pursue their dreams. With their dreams and passion, they cross the boundaries of cities and regions, and jointly write a new chapter in the "two-way rush" of talent flow.

Hong Kong youth pursue their dreams in front of the sea

Qianhai, a piece of land of about 120 square kilometers, is located in the core area of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It is connected to Hong Kong on one end and the 100-kilometer "Golden Inner Bay" around the Pearl River Estuary on the other. It has unique location advantages.

From the emerging scientific and technological innovation platforms, to the constantly expanding new infrastructure channels, to the continuously deepening process of connecting mechanisms and rules, Qianhai has increasingly become a fertile ground for attracting young people to start businesses and find employment in the past five years.

Liu Jia, a Hong Kong youth born in the 1985s, is a leader in the "northward" entrepreneurial wave in the Greater Bay Area. "As a young man in Hong Kong, I have been developing in Shenzhen for more than 10 years and have settled my home in Shenzhen. When we come here, we are supported by policies on entrepreneurship and employment, and related issues such as accommodation can also be solved."

When Liu Jia returned from studying overseas, she decided to develop in Shenzhen. From working as a worker in a trading company to founding a cross-border e-commerce platform, his first bucket of gold came from cross-border trade. Today, he runs the entrepreneurial incubator Star Innovation Center in Qianhai, helping more young people from Hong Kong and Macao realize their dreams in the mainland.

New productivity continues to burst out, bringing new opportunities for the development of Qianhai Hong Kong-funded enterprises. Statistics show that there are currently 2433 Hong Kong-funded technology companies in Qianhai. From January to April this year, Hong Kong-funded technology companies achieved revenue of 22.364 billion yuan in the fields of information services and technology services, a year-on-year increase of 95.7%. A number of high-growth Hong Kong-funded enterprises are developing rapidly in fields such as artificial intelligence, technology finance, and general health.

"I have witnessed the development of Qianhai, and it has also accompanied my growth." Liu Jia said,"Now the Greater Bay Area has achieved a one-hour living circle and is unobstructed 24 hours a day. I hope more young people will come to this technological highland and fertile ground for entrepreneurship."

A new starting point for "Xingang People"

Unlike Liu Jia's "going north" to start a business, Guo Lin chose to "go south" to Hong Kong to open a new chapter in his life. As a mainlander who has worked in Shenzhen for eight years, Guo Lin decided to come to Hong Kong this year to internationalize the company's business.

"Like many of my customers, I chose to come to Hong Kong because I also saw Hong Kong's advantages as an important channel for connecting the mainland with the world. Moreover, Hong Kong's policies in the past two years have provided very strong support for the Greater Bay Area." Guo Lin said.

Baichen International Investment Consulting Services (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., founded by Guo Lin, provides consultation to many small and medium-sized business owners. In recent years, he has witnessed with his own eyes more and more customers expanding their businesses from the mainland to Hong Kong, thus achieving revenue breakthroughs.

"The Hong Kong SAR government provides particularly good supporting services for new arrivals. It has set up a special talent service office and also helps solve children's education problems." Guo Lin said,"Many opportunities have emerged in Hong Kong in recent years. We work hard to win more possibilities."

According to statistics, in the past five years, the Hong Kong SAR government has implemented a series of preferential policies and successfully attracted more than 100,000 new talents to Hong Kong, who have injected new vitality into Hong Kong's economic and social development.

New trends in talent flow reflect economic vitality and complementary advantages of cities

Zheng Nan, a senior human resources management expert who has been in the industry for 20 years, has in-depth observations on the trend of talent flow in the Greater Bay Area. She said that behind the trend of "northward and southward" and "two-way rush" talent flow in the Greater Bay Area in recent years is the vigorous development of the Greater Bay Area's economy and the complementary advantages of cities in the region.

"In terms of talent flow, in the early days, what we saw was more driven by industry hotspots, such as mobile Internet, finance, games, etc. With the unique geographical advantages of the Greater Bay Area becoming prominent, economic development is seeking outward, and a new generation of waves are expanding outward with Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao as the center." Zheng Nan said.

She believes that enterprises and institutions in the Greater Bay Area pay more attention to the diversification and internationalization of talents, which provides more opportunities and platforms for the two-way flow of talents. Through the exchange and collision of talents, technological innovation and business innovation will be brought about, and cultural exchanges and integration within the region will be further promoted.

When attending a human resources summit in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States a month ago, Zheng Nan observed a phenomenon that excited her: "Many North American Chinese elites were very proactive and curious when they learned that I came from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. They really want to know 'what policies and opportunities are there in the Greater Bay Area' and 'which city is better to go to if you come back.' I think they already feel the appeal of the Greater Bay Area."

She believes that the active flow of talents in the Greater Bay Area is inseparable from higher-level policy guidance and resource support. "In the past five years since the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, I do feel that the flow of talents and enterprises has become more and more obvious and more fruitful. I have a positive and optimistic attitude about the flow of talents in the Greater Bay Area. With the convenience of transportation, the interoperability of technology, and the interaction between industry, academia and research, this trend will definitely become more obvious."

The road to talent integration in the Greater Bay Area is getting wider and wider

Yan Gang, a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and vice chairman of the Subcommittee on Rapid Integration of New Arrivals into Hong Kong, said that the SAR government has been committed to promoting talent exchanges and cooperation in the Greater Bay Area. In order to promote the two-way flow and deep integration of talents, the SAR government has introduced a series of policies and measures.

"The cross-border circulation of capital flow, information flow, and people flow in the Greater Bay Area is a very beneficial element for better promoting the construction of the Bay Area. The SAR government has done a lot of work in recent years, including introducing plans to support youth employment in the Greater Bay Area and establishing a talent service office." he said.

Yan Gang emphasized that these measures will not only help Hong Kong residents develop in the mainland, but also attract more mainland talents to work and live in Hong Kong. Through policy guidance and support, the road to talent integration in the Greater Bay Area is getting wider and wider.

"Judging from the strategic layout of Shenzhen and Hong Kong in jointly building high-tech development in Hetao, there will inevitably be more high-level talents flowing." Yan Gang said,"I am very confident that the Bay Area will use technology to promote high-quality development."