【明報專訊】Thanks to the tide of globalisation, manufacturing and market activities in economies of different regions have become more mutually dependent. This process is called economic integration. The driving force behind economic integration is principally trade in goods and services and the circulation of capital and technology, the latter of which fosters the development of trade. It also contributes to globalisation, examples being international economic cooperation organisation, free trade zones and large multi-national organisations.
Free trade zones
The State Council(國務院)has said that, the promotion of free trade is a prerequisite of the adaptation to economic globalisation. The country's aim is therefore to establish free-trade zones all around the world and strive to cooperate with emerging economies, developing countries and countries on the ''One Belt, One Road''(一帶一路). Signatory states to free-trade agreements open their markets to each other by reducing tariffs and removing trade barriers in goods and services. That includes lifting restrictions on foreign capital in areas like finance, architecture, accounting and e-commerce.(photo.1)
Trade between Hong Kong and mainland China
As of 2015, mainland China was Hong Kong's biggest trade partner in export, import and entrepot trade, accounting for over 50 percent of total trade. Hong Kong has long adhered to market economy, while mainland China, though called a ''socialist market economy''(社會主義市場經濟), has entered into all kinds of trade deals with Hong Kong in recent years, meaning that the two economies are in the process of integration. The CEPA(《內地與香港關於建立更緊密經貿關係的安排》), which was signed in 2003, is a major force behind the process.(photo.2)
Service markets
In 2006, goods produced in Hong Kong and exported to mainland China began to be subjected to ''zero tariff''(零關稅). However, as the Hong Kong economy is largely based on services, there are not many Hong Kong products. In 2015 mainland China and Hong Kong signed a deal to further open up the service markets of the two regions. In the health care industry, for example, registered health care practitioners (such as doctors, dentists, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners) are allowed to practise in mainland China for as long as three years.(photo.3)
Related concepts:
．Special Economic Zone (SEZ)
．cross-border cooperation
．Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
[通通識 第492期]
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