Spatial selectivity and intercity cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong

City-regionalism plays an increasingly important role in China’s economic development. This paper analyses new forms of institutional arrangements that promote city-regional governance in the case of Hong Kong and Guangdong. Focusing on implementing the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), we examine two research questions: Why are Guangdong and cities in the PRD strategically selected to implement CEPA and embed Hong Kong-based circulatory capital? How do governments at different scales build coordinated relationships to implement CEPA? Building upon the literature on state rescaling, we argue that governments have engaged in a scalar division of administration – a form of institutional infrastructure that aims to design and implement state strategies of urban and regional development. Within this division, the national government plays a role in steering and decision-making, Guangdong provincial government in coordination and facilitation, and urban governments in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Zhuhai in actual implementation. CEPA implementation is built upon vertical linkages between governments at different levels in the Mainland and HKSAR government, and horizontal linkages between three free trade subzones (Qianhai, Nansha, and Hengqin) and Hong Kong-based firms and entrepreneurs. 城市区域主义在中国经济发展中发挥着越来越重要的作用。本文以香港和广东为例，分析了促进城市 - 区域治理的新形式制度安排。我们专注于“更紧密经贸关系安排”（CEPA）的实施，并探讨两个研究问题：为什么广东和珠三角的城市在战略上选择实施CEPA并嵌入香港的循环资本？不同规模的政府如何建立协调关系以实施CEPA？在国家尺度重构（Rescaling）方面文献的基础上，我们认为政府已经进行了标量的行政划分 - 一种旨在设计和实施城市和区域发展的国家战略的制度基础设施。在这种划分中，国家政府在指导和决策中发挥作用，广东省政府在协调和推进方面发挥作用，而深圳、广州和珠海的城市政府则负责实际实施。CEPA的实施基础是内地和香港特区各级政府之间的纵向联系，以及三个自由贸易区（前海、南沙和横琴）与香港企业和企业家之间的横向联系。