BIZCHINA / Weekly Roundup
Should city follow HK's lead?
(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-01-17 11:06
Fudan University economist Zhang Jun found himself in hot water recently
after newspapers reported he advocates Shanghai becoming a new special
administrative region like Hong Kong.
In a telephone interview with China Daily, Zhang said he was not talking
about what some netizens described as "one country, two systems" for
Shanghai.
"What I really mean is that there should be a breakthrough in
transforming government functions," he said.
Zhang, director of the China Center for Economic Studies of Fudan
University, believes that unlike other provinces, Shanghai's government
should not be pushed into meeting a set GDP target.
Without that burden, Shanghai can focus on developing even more into an
economic and trade center and an international city, according to Zhang.
"If city leaders are assessed only by GDP growth, they will hold onto
those projects that contribute to GDP growth and will not allow them to
go to other provinces," said the economics professor.
Local government leaders often tout GDP growth as a sign of success. To
pursue a higher GDP growth, Shanghai and other Yangtze Delta cities have
waged a tough battle to compete for large foreign investment projects,
despite the fact that the service industry is widely regarded as the
future of Shanghai.
Zhang said what he advocates is that Shanghai's government should no
longer steer the economy and engage directly in attracting foreign
investment, implementing projects and boosting GDP. Rather, it should
learn from the Hong Kong government.
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