Toward Collaborative Governance in Economic Cooperation between Hong Kong and Mainland China

Abstract

Economic cooperation between Hong Kong and Mainland China, especially Guangdong province, has flourished since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 1997. The landmark in this process was the conclusion of the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two areas in 2003. The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and the Mainland cover liberalization of trade in goods, liberalization of trade in services, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and other trade facilitation measures. This paper argues that a collaborative governance regime based on network coordination is emerging under “One Country, Two Systems” (OCTS) and the collaborative approach will be used to explain the intensifying Hong Kong-Mainland economic cooperation. This paper has three parts. Part one provides an overview of the evolution of intergovernmental mechanisms between Hong Kong and the Mainland and introduces the analytical framework. Part two discusses how the framework can be applied to the intergovernmental mechanisms on CEPA and part three analyzes the key provisions of CEPA and its implications.

Keywords: collaborative governance, Hong Kong, China