Call for Papers

The 1^st  International Academic Conference  on Bay Area Development in a Global Context 

 

“Regional Cooperation and Innovation-driven Development”

Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies (IGHMDS)

 Center for Studies of Hong Kong, Macao and Pearl River Delta

Sun Yat-sen University
May 16-18, 2020, Guangzhou, China

 

In order to promote international academic exchanges on expanding regional cooperation and innovation-driven development, IGHMDS will hold the first International Conference on the Greater Bay Area Initiative (GBA) in May 2020. The expectation is that a substantial multidisciplinary research and policy agenda will follow and that subsequent conferences will be held at regular intervals.

The general theme of the 1st Conference will be “Regional Cooperation and Innovation-driven Development". The focus in the GBA is on the significant innovations that are underway in nine cities in Guangdong Province, HK and Macao, that will lead to new regional linkages to create a “high-tech” zone or hub that spans several cities or jurisdictions. The stronger regional cooperation across the nine cities, HK and Macao, based on enhanced connectivity and public infrastructure, will affect the overall growth potential and rebalancing of activities within China, as well as trading partners (e.g., BRI countries).  Thus, this transformation will also have implications for strengthening or developing new regional and global value-chains.

Consequently:

*      In some cases, labour intensive value-added activities would shift to less congested regions within China (so spatial dynamics of domestic rebalancing will come into play), also improving the environment, as well as reducing inequalities. The generation of employment opportunities outside the High-Tech Zone is important in mitigating transition costs and maintaining economic stability in the face of major structural change.

*        Utilizing e-commerce and fin-tech, new value chains will lead to a transformation in the way that business is done, and also directly affect the spatial dynamics of the transition, requiring stronger cross-city and cross provincial coordination mechanisms (especially in the case of the parallel Yangtze River Delta Program that includes Shanghai, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces).

*        The innovation and R&D and science parks would need to be matched with financing from the regional finance hubs (Shenzhen and HK), infrastructure for the establishment of new firms and IPOs, as well as the internationally recognized legal frameworks being centered in HK and Shenzhen. Coordination of the GBA-related infrastructure, cross city service delivery, and administrative activities would be in Guangzhou.

*         With the GBA becoming a high-tech “hub” or zone, new sustainable growth patterns will emerge. Consequently, the conference will explore:

o   Changing patterns of innovation, product development and financing;

o   Changing nature of SEZs, with a removal of within-country borders to encourage the development of linkages between cities, within the broader economic space, driven by tax policies such as the VAT to create an “integrated economic space”  (following the example of the EC 6^th Directive).

o   Focus on clean technologies and improved environment and living standards.

o   Broader area responsibilities will also facilitate addressing ecological externalities and preventing and responding to natural disasters.

*         The optimal design of clean, compact and connected cities for sustainable growth should be examined in the context of wide-area functions that encompass more than one city or jurisdiction.

*        Governance questions will be important to ensure that the new zones are sustainable in economic, administrative, financial and fiscal terms. The difficulties experienced in Europe and the US in adjusting administrative and political boundaries of cities to better match new economic spaces will be a useful point of departure. It will also be important to examine, within the Chinese governance model, ongoing fiscal reforms including:

o   The role of national tax policy to underpin the common economic space:

  Harmonization of VAT regimes in particular with BRI countries, as in the EC should to facilitate the free flow of goods and services, and permit Chinese private firms to relocate facilities in BRI countries.

o   The design of own-source regional and city level tax arrangements (with SAT administration) to ensure that there is accountability for the decisions taken and to underpin the financing needed for investments, without generating unsustainable fiscal risks.

§  Key elements include the establishment of local beneficial property tax systems that do not generate urban sprawl, and also anchor access to private finance and underpin liabilities generated by PPPs.

§  New technologies, particularly blockchain applications to simplify information generation, simplify procedures as well as enhance the ease of doing business.

o   Management and financing of the infrastructure and local public services to underpin the GBA

o   Role of the provinces or intermediate structures in managing and providing cross city/jurisdictional infrastructure, financing and services as well as coordination.

*  The transformation will enable the strengthening of existing and development of new trading links with Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, building on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Ancillary hubs or zones could be envisaged, say in Italy or Eastern Europe, as well as South and South East Asia and in Africa, to the mutual benefit of China and the main trading partners.

 

Papers in English or Chinese from researchers around the world addressing the above themes are welcome, including relevant international examples of successes and failures. Special consideration will be given to the papers relevant to “the changing nature of Special Economic Zones, and Free Trade Zones”, “Regional Governance”, “Innovation driven development”, “Regional Cooperation” and “Belt and Road Initiative”. A critical examination of relevant international experience is encouraged, as well as assessment of the GBA context. This will help to formulate inputs for an action plan for the GBA.

 

The forum includes two parts: the first part will feature distinguished keynote speeches, plenary and parallel sessions on critical topics related to Regional Cooperation and Innovation-driven Development on May 17; the second part will involve visiting local firms and incubators on May 18.

Submissions

1.   Submit abstract (400-500 words in English and 800 word in Chinese) to chenqi56@mail.sysu.edu.cn by Feb.1, 2020. The email should have the title as “abstract for The 1st International Academic Conference on the Greater Bay Area Development in a Global Context”.

2.Notification of acceptance will be announced by email by Mar. 1, 2020.

3.  All papers accepted for presentation must be submitted in full to chenqi56@mail.sysu.edu.cn by April 20. 2020. The email should have the title as “full paper for The 1st International Academic Conference on the Greater Bay Area Development in a Global Context”.

Accommodation

  Presenters (one presenter per paper from outside of Guangzhou) will be provided with hotel accommodation for two  nights and meals during the conference (May 16-18).

Registration Fee

   The Forum does not charge registration fees.

Important Dates

1.   Feb. 1, 2020 – Abstract submission

2. March 1, 2020 – Notification of acceptance

3.  April 20, 2020– Submission of full paper

Journal participation

 Journal of Contemporary China (SSCI) publishes articles of theoretical and policy research and research notes, as well as book reviews of Chinese language works published in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States and other parts of the world. The fields of interest include economics, political science, law, culture, history, international relations, sociology and other social sciences and humanities.

Enquiry

For questions and inquiries, please contact Mr. Qi Chen by telephone: (020) 84110032 or +86 19857063218 or via email: chenqi56@mail.sysu.edu.cn

Organizing Committee

The conference be Chaired by Professor Junzhi He, Professor of Political Science, Vice Dean of Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Sun Yat-sen University.

Organizing committee members include:

Prof. Tianwu Guo, professor of law, Vice Dean of Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Sun Yat-sen University

Prof. Zhian Zhang, professor of communication, Vice Dean of Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Sun Yat-sen University

Prof. Chiping Yuan, professor of Economics, Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Sun Yat-sen University

Prof. Zhengping Fu, professor of management, Vice Dean of  Free Trade Zones, Sun Yat-sen University

Associate Prof. Xiaoying Li, Associate professor of Economics, Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Sun Yat-sen University

Mr.Xuyang Yuan, Vice Dean, Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Sun Yat-sen University

Mr. Qi Chen, Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, Sun Yat-sen University

 

征稿启事：

第一届全球湾区发展国际学术会议:

“区域合作与创新驱动发展”

中山大学粤港澳发展研究院（IGHMDS）

中山大学港澳珠江三角洲研究中心

2020年5月16-18日，中国广州

 

    为增强区域合作与创新驱动发展的国际学术交流与合作，中山大学粤港澳发展研究院将每年定期举办“全球湾区发展”国际学术会议。2020年5月，首届“全球湾区发展”国际学术会议将在广州举行，会议将包括大量跨学科研究和政策议程。

    首届会议的主题是“区域合作与创新驱动发展”。粤港澳大湾区的战略定位是打造国际一流湾区和世界级城市群。通过香港、澳门和广东9市之间跨区域的协作，打造具有全球影响力的国际科技创新中心，并最终形成以创新为主要支撑的经济体系和发展模式。在增强互联互通和公共基础设施建设的基础上，粤港澳大湾区还将影响中国及其贸易伙伴（如“一带一路”沿线国家）的增长潜力和经济活动再平衡，并进一步对区域和全球价值链体系产生深远影响。

    具体的影响包括如下：

• 在某些情况下，劳动密集型经济活动进行空间转移，即从人口密集地区迁往人口较为稀疏地区，从而带来中国国内空间经济的再平衡，这种转移将有助于改善环境质量和降低社会不平等。在巨大的结构变迁中，科技创新中心以外区域的就业创造至关重要，其有助于降低经济转型成本并保持经济平稳运行。
• 利用电子商务和金融科技，新的价值链将会带来商业模式的根本性变革，改变空间经济关系，因而需要加强跨市和跨省的协调机制（特别是在涵盖江浙沪皖的长三角规划）。
• 港深两大区域金融中心的融资能力，创业和首次公开募股（IPOs）的基础设施，以及国际公认的法律框架有助于创新、研发和科技园区的发展。广州在基础设施联通、跨城市的商贸服务和行政服务领域有助于大湾区城市之间的协作发展。
• 随着粤港澳大湾区打造国际科创中心进程的推进，将形成新的可持续增长模式。因此，本次会议还将会探讨：
  • 不断变化的创新、产品开发和金融模式；
  • 经济特区性质的变化，即通过消除国家内部的边界，鼓励发展城市间的联系，通过增值税改革等税收政策推动建立一个新的“一体化的特殊经济区域”。
  • 发展清洁科技，改善环境和提升生活质量
  • 更广泛的区域合作也将有助于处理生态外部性问题，预防和应对自然灾害。
• 为了实现可持续增长，清洁、集约、紧密联系的城市群，最优化设计应该置于多城市或者管辖区的广域功能的背景中进行研究。
• 治理问题对于确保粤港澳大湾区在经济、行政、金融和财政方面的可持续性至关重要。欧美在调整各城市间行政边界以更好地适应新经济空间所经历的困难及其经验，将是一个有益起点。在中国的治理模式下，研究正在进行中的财政改革也很重要，这包括：
  • 国家税收政策支持巩固经济共同体的作用：特别是和“一带一路”沿线国家增值税制度的协调，如欧盟内部应该促进商品和服务的自由流动，同时方便中国私营企业在“一带一路”沿线国家进行投资；
  • 设计自有财源的区域和城市级别的税制安排（与中国国家税务局），在财政可持续性的情况下，确保政府决策的可问责性，并支持投资所需资金。
  • 建立地方优惠的产权和税收制度，并保证该制度不会导致城市建设无序蔓延，同时也为私人融资提供了便利渠道，支持偿还由政府和社会资本合作项目（PPPs）所产生的地方债务。
  • 新兴科技，尤其是区块链技术的应用，简化了信息生成和业务程序，增加了企业经营的便利性。
  • 管理和资助基础设施建设和地方公共服务，以支持粤港澳大湾区建设
  • 各省或者中介机构在管理和提供跨城市、管辖区基础设施、融资和服务以及协调方面的作用。
• 上述转变将使中国在“一带一路”倡议的基础上，加强与非洲、亚洲、中东、欧洲和美洲的现有和崭新的贸易联系。可以考虑在意大利或东欧、南亚和东南亚以及非洲等地建立配套中心或区域，使中国和主要贸易伙伴互惠互利。

 

    诚挚邀请海内外专家学者、青年才俊就上述主题积极参与、踊跃赐稿、共襄盛举。论文可用中英文写作，选题应包括上述相关主题的国际成功案例和失败经验。重点关注的论文选题包括但不限于如下：“经济特区和自由贸易区的性质变化”，“区域治理”，“创新驱动发展”，“区域合作”和“‘一带一路’倡议”。论文内容鼓励对国际相关经验作批判性研究，鼓励囊括粤港澳大湾区建设的背景。这将有助于为粤港澳大湾区建设方案找到切入点和突破口。

    本次大会分为两个环节：第一部分为2020年5月17日的“区域合作和创新驱动发展”主题的嘉宾主旨演讲，全体会议和专题分享；第二部分为2020年5月18日参观当地企业和科技孵化器。

 

论文提交：

    1、2020年2月1日前提交论文摘要（英文400-500字，中文800字）至chenqi56@mail.sysu.edu.cn。为方便统计信息，投稿邮件标题格式统一命名为：“第一届全球湾区发展国际学术会议+论文摘要”。

    2、收到稿件后，我们将邀请相关专家进行匿名评审和遴选，并及时公布结果。入选结果将于2020年3月1日前以电子邮件的方式告知。所有入选论文的全文必须于2020年4月20日提交至chenqi56@mail.sysu.edu.cn。邮件标题格式统一命名为：“第一届全球湾区发展国际学术会议+论文全文”

 

食宿：

    2020年5月16日-18日的会议期间，主办方将为广州市外的入选及受邀者提供两晚宾馆住宿和用餐资助。

 

会议费用：

    本次会议不收取任何会务费。

 

重要时间节点：

    1、2020年2月1日，论文摘要提交

    2、2020年3月1日，论文入选通知

    3、2020年4月20日，论文全文提交

 

期刊参与：

参与研讨的优秀论文，经过讨论修改和编辑部审定后，将进入 Journal of Contemporary China （《当代中国》SSCI）审稿程序，并优先发表。

 

会议联系人：

中山大学粤港澳发展研究院

陈琦：电话020- 84110032；邮件chenqi56@mail.sysu.edu.cn

 

会议组织委员会：

何俊志，组委会主席，政治学教授，中山大学粤港澳发展研究院常务副院长

郭天武，法学教授，中山大学粤港澳发展研究院副院长

张志安，新闻传播学教授，中山大学粤港澳发展研究院副院长

袁持平，经济学教授，中山大学粤港澳发展研究院

符正平，管理学教授，中山大学自贸区综合研究院常务副院长

李小瑛，经济学副教授，中山大学粤港澳发展研究院

袁旭阳，中山大学粤港澳发展研究院副院长

陈  琦，中山大学粤港澳发展研究院