Investigating the evolution of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) multi-port system: The multi-faced perspectives

Abstract

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is the world's workshop and one of the most rapidly growing economic regions in the world. In the GBA multi-port system, Hong Kong, which is one of the world's largest shipping centres and once the leading port in the GBA, has experienced a continuous decline in recent years and has been successively overtaken by two other GBA ports (i.e. Shenzhen and Guangzhou). This paper explores the concentration, inequality, and competition of the GBA multi-port system during the 1972–2020 period from multi-faced perspectives. Results indicate that: 1) Hong Kong has witnessed an entire K-wave evolution, and 2) the evolution of the GBA multi-port system is a result of the asynchronous development stages of different GBA ports; 3) Missing the opportunity period of 2000–2008, the transfer of capital from Hong Kong and the Chinese “opening up” policy are the direct, the underlying and the root causes behind this evolution; 4) A tri-hub multi-port system has gradually taken shape in the GBA finally, in which Hong Kong is the second runner-up after Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The prospect of the Hong Kong Port would not be optimistic, and a negative impact of Guangzhou on Hong Kong could be expected in the near future. We recommend Hong Kong to carry out differentiation development with Shenzhen Port and Guangzhou Port and focus on international transhipment.