Huizhou looks to upgrade its industrial mix as it eyes key role in Greater Bay Area
- Huizhou, one of the less developed cities in China’s scheme to create an economic hub, aims to embrace new industries like car making and clean energy
- It should benefit from substantial infrastructure investment, thanks to a spillover effect from ‘inner ring’ cities like Shenzhen
Huizhou, the second closest mainland Chinese city to Hong Kong, has set its sights on new industries including car and equipment manufacturing and clean energy to rejuvenate an economy that plummeted 8.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2020.
The city’s two existing pillar industries – electronics and petrochemicals – have fallen victim to weaker external demand as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the global economy.
Huizhou, or Wai Jau in Cantonese, is classified as one of the “outer ring” cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), alongside Zhaoqing and Jiangmen. These are the less developed cities towards the periphery of the zone, with lower land and labour costs, where heavier industries are beginning to congregate.
It should benefit from substantial infrastructure investment, as spillovers from the “inner ring” – the likes of Shenzhen and Macau, with advanced manufacturing and services and better transport links – lead to the establishment of more industrial bases to provide things like paper, metals and power to the entire bay area.
Here, the South China Morning Post tries to gauge the role of Huizhou, and its 5 million residents, as they pursue new growth opportunities in the future economic hub.
What is the history of Huizhou?
Situated in the north of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou was historically known as Lingnan and the gateway to eastern Guangdong.