Stavri Anoos (American historian) thinks: "What exactly does the word civilization mean? Anthropologists have pointed out some characteristics that distinguish civilization from Neolithic culture. These features include: city center, state power established by system, tribute or tax, writing, social division into classes or grades, huge buildings, various specialized arts and sciences, and so on. " (General History of the World, Volume I, page 105, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press)

Kluckhohn (American scholar) proposed that there are three forms of civilization: ① there are a series of permanent towns, market towns or cities with a population of at least 5,000; (2) Characters have been invented and used; (three) the existing memorial public buildings and central celebration venues. (Quoted from Chen Qinzhuang's Outline of P3 World Civilization History published by Zhejiang University Press)

Richard Florida (American economist) pointed out: "The new mega-city is the real organizational unit of the world economy. They created most of the wealth, attracted most of the talents and occupied the largest share of innovation. "

The history of historical development proves that cities develop with the progress of human civilization. Ancient cities were small in scale. For example, Athens in the 5th century BC was a city with only 40,000 residents and 65,438+10,000 slaves and foreigners. Real cities are the product of industrial and commercial development. /kloc-in the third century, a number of commercial and trade center cities appeared along the Mediterranean coast, among which Venice had a population of over 200,000 in its heyday. After the industrial revolution, the process of urbanization has been greatly accelerated, and cities have achieved unprecedented development because farmers are constantly flocking to new industrial centers. By the eve of World War I, most of the population in Europe had already lived in cities. A city is not only a symbol of economic prosperity and ease of life, but also a symbol of residents' quality and civilization.

It can be summarized as follows: after mankind took the first step of civilization, the population began to gather to form the earliest city, and man was the creator of civilization; Cities become regional political, economic and cultural centers, and assume the leadership functions of managing society and organizing production, thus becoming leaders and organizers of the growth and development of civilization; Cities have preserved the achievements of human civilization and become the most efficient places to create new civilizations. Cities shoulder the mission of inheriting traditional culture, sustainable development and creating new culture. Therefore, urban civilization occupies a core position in civilization, and the place where civilization first appeared later became a city; The emergence of cities has brought about a qualitative change in civilization. Cities provide a good environment for the development of civilization, and cities become the leaders, weathervanes and radiation sources of civilization.

Cities are the leaders of the development of human civilization.

Reading books on the history of human civilization shows that there have been many kinds of "civilized bodies" (Toynbee) in human history. These civilizations have been experiencing the process of birth, growth, prosperity and extinction in the long history of thousands of years. The fusion of various civilizations seems to be the confluence of countless streams into a long river of human civilization. From the rise and fall of cities, we can clearly see the history of the rise and fall of various civilizations.

Stavri and Anoos analyzed the rise and fall of human civilization in his book A General History of the World. He analyzed that during the ancient civilization of Eurasia (3500 ~ 1000 BC), the center of civilization was the Middle East. "It was the Middle East that made great contributions to mankind at that time, such as inventing agriculture, metallurgy, the lifestyle of urban residents and the organization of empires." During the classical civilization of Eurasia (65438 BC+0000 ~ 500 AD), the Middle East was far behind. During this period, most inventions came from Europe, India and China. During the medieval civilization of Eurasia (500 ~ 1500), Europe entered the theological period, Islam rose, the Mongolian empire rose, and Confucian civilization entered its heyday. After 1500 AD, Western European civilization took off and began to expand, especially after the British industrial revolution, European civilization was far ahead in the blink of an eye, while the ancient Eastern civilization was declining.

Murayama Festival, which founded the "legal history of civilization", believes that the earth civilization can be roughly divided into eastern civilization and western civilization, which has been circulating for 800 years. The first year of the birth of Jesus was the heyday of Greek civilization, and the next 400 years was the heyday of Roman civilization. During this period, the western civilization, represented by the Parthenon in Greece and the Colosseum in Rome, showed a thriving scene in the field of science and technology. On the other hand, the East is in an undeveloped age of darkness and ignorance. But with the disintegration of the Roman Empire in 395 AD, Greek and Roman civilizations came to an end. During the 800 years from AD 400 to 1200, Eastern civilization began to replace Western civilization and entered its heyday. During this period, China experienced the Tang Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, and its culture got unprecedented development. However, the western society split and entered the dark Middle Ages. The 800-year period from 1200 to 2000 is a period of revival of western civilization and decline of eastern civilization. After the Renaissance, western science and technology began to develop rapidly. After the discovery of the new American continent, the establishment of colonies around the world and the industrial revolution, western science and technology reached its peak again. With the advent of the era of globalization, western civilization began to sweep the world. (Inoue Shigeru Reference News 2008. 1.26. )

American journalist Nicholas Christopher's article "From Kaifeng to new york-Brilliance is like a passing cloud" explores the road of civilization development from the perspective of the rise and fall of cities, which can confirm the views of the above two scholars. Christopher reviewed the rise and fall of the world's largest city with a scale of 500 years in history: before 2000 BC, the most important city in the world was Ur, Iraq. 1500 BC was Thebes, Egypt. In l000 BC, there were no particularly outstanding cities in the world. If you barely make up the number, it can be counted as Sidon in Lebanon. In 500 BC, it was Persepolis in Persia (now Iran). The rise of Rome in Italy in the first year of AD. In 500 AD, Chang 'an in China was the most prosperous. In the year 1000, the most prosperous cities in the world were Kaifeng in China and Florence in Italy. The author did not mention the city of 1500. I think I can probably choose one from Beijing, London and Paris. It was new york in 2000. The reporter's prediction is that by 2500, all the above cities will be gone.

At present, London, new york and Tokyo are recognized as the largest and most influential global cities in the world. They influence the world economy and dominate the development direction and process of the world economy to a great extent. Some scholars believe that global cities have the following characteristics: First, global financial centers and trade centers. London, new york and Tokyo have the world's top international financial institutions, stock exchanges and the headquarters of many multinational companies. Second, it has a strong soft power advantage. There are many international organizations and institutions in global cities, which are highly concentrated gathering places and control points of world economic organizations. Third, a solid economic foundation. The economies of global cities are among the best in the world. Fourth, the urban infrastructure is advanced. Such as international hub airports, international hub ports, international information hubs and advanced transportation systems. The fifth is the industrial structure with producer services as the mainstay. Global cities are the most advanced producers of professional services and the main consumer markets of financial and service products. (The research topic of the research group of Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Metropolis was published in Shenzhen Cultural Studies, No.2, 2008)

So where will the largest city in the world appear in 2500? Murayama Festival thinks: "From 2000 to 2800, ... in the new civilized society, the mode of realizing high industrialization at the expense of global warming will be changed. To this end, the wisdom of the oriental civilization that pursues the unity of man and nature should be the ideological basis of all mankind. " As far as China people are concerned, for thousands of years, hundreds of millions of people have been more United and successful politically and culturally than any other nation in the world. They showed the world this ability of political and cultural unification and had unparalleled successful experience. This unity is an absolute requirement in today's world. This is why the cooperation between China people and East Asian nations may play a leading role in the process of human reunification, which is considered indispensable and inevitable. World unity is the way to avoid human collective suicide. At this point, the Chinese nation, which has cultivated a unique way of thinking for two thousand years, is now the most fully prepared among all ethnic groups in the world. " (Quoted from Ni Jianzhong's "Civilized China" P396 published by China Social Publishing House) If the words of two scholars are correct, in 2500, the largest city in the world may appear again in China.

Urban civilization in Shenzhen

Shenzhen is probably the fastest urbanization place in the world. In 28 years, it has developed from a border town to today's metropolis. Shenzhen 1979 65438+ was established on1October 23rd, and 1980 was declared as a special economic zone on August 26th. After two large-scale urbanization movements. For the first time, in 1992, 40,000 farmers in 173 natural villages in Luohu, Futian and Nanshan in the Special Zone changed their identities and became "city people". In addition, the SAR has systematically established a management system that meets the requirements of modern cities in administrative, economic and social aspects. The second time started at the end of 2003 10. Bao 'an and Longgang districts outside the special zone have also been restructured as a whole, with towns changing into streets and villages changing into communities. All 270,000 rural people have "washed their feet" and become "city people". From this day on, there were no more rural areas in Shenzhen, becoming the first city in China without rural areas.

It should be said that the process of urbanization and the construction of urban civilization are very important to the development of China today. Professor J.E.Stiglitz, a famous American economist and Nobel Prize winner, believes that there are two key factors that affect human development in the 2/kloc-0 century: the new technological revolution led by the United States and the urbanization of China. He also believes that urbanization is the biggest challenge facing China in the new century. (Originally published by Tang Xiaoping, author of Xinhua Digest, 2006.22. )

Judging from the development experience of Shenzhen, Professor Smith's views are very insightful. The urbanization of Shenzhen is accompanied by the process of industrialization. Industrialization focuses on economic development and urbanization focuses on social development. Realizing industrialization (including informatization) and urbanization is the task of modernization. In just 30 years, Shenzhen's industrialization, urbanization and modernization have gone hand in hand, completing the journey that many European countries took hundreds of years to complete. Although Shenzhen has created a miracle from the perspective of the development of human civilization, it also poses a severe challenge to human ability and potential. From the actual situation, tangible things such as urban construction may be completed in a short time; The improvement of people's quality, an intangible thing, is difficult to complete in a short time. Therefore, for the urban civilization of Shenzhen, it is not easy to solve the problems in urban construction, but it is even more difficult to solve urban management and improve the civilized quality of citizens. In fact, in the past 30 years, we have been building two cities at the same time: the material city and the spiritual city. The development of these two cities is inconsistent and unsynchronized, and the development of spiritual civilization cities often lags behind the pace of material civilization cities. This is the difficulty in creating a civilized city.

Judging from the understanding and work of the leaders, Shenzhen has always insisted on grasping the two civilizations together since its establishment. While developing economy, we should attach importance to the construction of urban culture and spiritual civilization. Shenzhen started to build a civilized city from 1989. After more than a year's struggle, in September, 1999, 58 advanced cities and advanced urban areas (including 38 advanced cities) were selected nationwide to create a national civilized city. Shenzhen is famous on the list and has become the first batch of advanced cities in civilized work. Then, the creation of the first batch of national civilized cities began. June 5438 +2005 10, the first batch of civilized cities in China was announced. Shenzhen lived up to expectations and won the crown again, becoming one of the nine civilized cities in China. The selection of civilized cities is held every three years. This year, the second national civilized city selection (the first batch of civilized city evaluation) began. Shenzhen has ushered in a new test, and I believe it will be able to retain the honorary title of the first batch of civilized cities.

Some of my friends often travel on business. They tell me that when I go abroad or go back to the mainland, I will sigh when I return to Shenzhen: "Shenzhen is better." I believe that most Shenzhen citizens have this feeling. So, what's so good about this city?

Shenzhen is a beautiful city. The urban architecture in Shenzhen has a strong sense of modernity and luxury style, like solidified music, with high and low levels and harmonious melody. The urban landscape of Shenzhen is the latest and most beautiful picture, with beautiful composition and colorful colors. Green trees are covered in cages, flowers bloom all year round, and the city is like a big garden. The market at night is brightly lit, and the sea of lights is colorful. The urban temperament of Shenzhen tastes like well-dressed boys and girls, full of youth and charm. People live and work in peace and contentment with confidence, and smiling faces are the most beautiful scenery.

Shenzhen is a people-oriented city. Shenzhen adheres to scientific development and harmonious development, and the road to creation is getting wider and wider. On June 5438+ 10, 2007, Shenzhen's net welfare index system was promulgated and implemented, and the public financial input in the field of people's livelihood was continuously increased to ensure that citizens enjoyed the fruits of development. The Blue Book of China's Urban Competitiveness in 2007 published by China Academy of Social Sciences shows that Shenzhen's urban comprehensive competitiveness ranks first among mainland cities, and among environmental competitiveness, Shenzhen's urban natural environment beauty index ranks first. At the Beijing Summit of China City Forum, Shenzhen was rated as the "most livable" city. Shenzhen has been rated as "national environmental protection model city" and "world top 500 environmental protection cities".

Shenzhen is a city of poetic life. Shenzhen is a city that attaches importance to cultural construction. China put forward the strategy of "building a city through culture" and attached importance to protecting citizens' cultural rights. What cultural rights do citizens have? It mainly includes four aspects: the right to enjoy cultural achievements, the right to participate in cultural activities, the right to create culture and the right to protect cultural achievements. (Wang Jingsheng, People-oriented, Building a Perfect Cultural Service System for the Public). People in Shenzhen love reading and draw nutrition from books. They are full of learning spirit and invite celebrities to give lectures. The night school where young students study is brightly lit, and citizens actively participate in creative activities, with fruitful results. The cultural achievements of ICIF are dazzling. Many theatres are full of elegant artistic performances, mass cultural activities are colorful, pianos are melodious everywhere in the community, and old people are dancing. Culture is the soul and color of a city. As Heidegger said, because of culture, Shenzhen has become a spiritual home where citizens live poetically.

Shenzhen is a caring city. Shenzhen has the earliest and largest volunteer team in China, with more than 1.6 million registered volunteers and more than 540,000 volunteers in various projects. Shenzhen is a city that dares to donate blood and organs. In 15, Shenzhen * * * had1315,000 people donating blood for free, and the amount of blood donated was 263 tons, which not only met the needs of this city, but also supported other cities. Shenzhen won the title of "National Advanced City for Free Blood Donation" for five consecutive years. The "Caring Action" in Shenzhen has been held for five times and has become a big platform for all sectors of society to show their love. The city organized nearly 8,000 activities, which solved the practical difficulties of a large number of people in need. Shenzhen is a caring city for migrant workers, and won the honor of the first place in "Top 10 Most Popular Cities for Migrant Workers in China". A large number of civilized and advanced figures have emerged in Shenzhen, including Chen Guanyu, He, Liu Xian, Zang Jingui, Guo Chunyuan, Cong Fei, Cheng Ming and Li Chuanmei. They are from Shenzhen.

Shenzhen is a city that knows how to be grateful and return. It is always ahead in helping the poor and supporting the disaster-stricken areas. 1995, Shenzhen launched the "heart-to-heart activity between special zones and mountainous areas and old areas". Various districts and working committees in Shenzhen formed a helping pair with old mountainous areas such as Yan 'an, Jinggangshan, Pingxiang, Aba, Wushan, Hong 'an, Zhangbei, Ningxiang, Liuyang and Sandu, and built 142 Hope Primary Schools for the local area. Since 1995, Shenzhen has successively helped Linzhi and Changdu areas in Tibet with more than 65,438 billion yuan, and built a number of projects such as "Shenzhen Avenue" and "Shenzhen Road". 65438-0996 According to the arrangement of the State Council, the "Shenzhen and Guizhou join hands to help the poor" activities were carried out to help the southern Guizhou and Bijie areas develop their economies. In 2002, the state allocated 300 million yuan to set up student aid funds in Guizhou, Gansu and Xinjiang provinces, subsidizing 654.38+600,000 students. 10 for many years, according to the arrangement of the provincial government, it has helped Meizhou, Heyuan and other places to develop the economy in the province. According to the statistics since 1990, the total amount of assistance funds arranged by various localities is 7.935 billion yuan. In the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, Shenzhen undertook the reconstruction of "three counties and one district" in Wudu area of Gansu and Wenxian, Kangxian and Zhouqu counties of Gannan. On the occasion of commemorating the 30th anniversary of the reform and opening up, Shenzhen put forward the slogan of "Grateful for the reform and opening up and repaying the people of the whole country".

The ranking of Shenzhen among the world cities.

In the new round of emancipating the mind that began at the beginning of this year, the leaders of the provincial party committee asked Shenzhen to compete with Hong Kong and Singapore. Shenzhen bravely led the task, analyzed the situation and found out the gap. Compared with these first-class cities, the gap in Shenzhen should be said to be very large.

We choose several cities comparable to Shenzhen for comparison. Hong Kong covers an area of 1034 square kilometers and has a population of 7 million. Singapore covers an area of 626 square kilometers and has a population of 365,438+10,000. Seoul covers an area of 605 square kilometers with a population of10.32 million. Taipei covers an area of 272 square kilometers and has a population of 3 million. Osaka covers an area of 22 1 km2 and has a population of 2.63 million. Shenzhen covers an area of 1953 square kilometers and has a population of 8.6 million. In contrast, Shenzhen has the largest land area and the second population. However, the land output per square kilometer is only 2/9 of that of Hong Kong, 1/6 of Singapore, 1/9 of Seoul, 1/7 of Taipei and112 of Osaka. The per capita GDP of Shenzhen is only equivalent to 1/3 in Hong Kong, 3/ 10 in Singapore, 2/5 in Seoul, 1/3 in Taipei and 1/8 in Osaka.

According to the 2005/2006 Global City Competitiveness Report, a Sino-US joint research project, among the major cities in the world, the rankings of the above cities are Hong Kong10, Seoul 27, Singapore 46, Taipei 48, Osaka 55 and Shenzhen 73 respectively. On July 27th, 2008, the new Global Urban Competitiveness Report 2007/2008 was released. Singapore rose to eighth place, Seoul rose to 12, Hong Kong fell to 26th place, and Shenzhen rose to 64th place. (Shenzhen Evening News, July 28, 2008. )

Statistically speaking, the gap between Shenzhen and rival cities is very large, which shows that Shenzhen's productivity is relatively low and people's ability and quality are relatively poor. Overall, Shenzhen's competitiveness is not strong enough. However, from the perspective of potential, there is still more land in Shenzhen; Shenzhen's per capita GDP is low, indicating that there is still much room for improvement in production efficiency; Shenzhen's industrial composition accounts for a large proportion of low-end processing industries, which means that Shenzhen has a broad space for developing high-tech and high-end service industries. As long as Shenzhen improves its weaknesses, makes up for its shortcomings and improves its production efficiency, its total economic output will surpass that of rival cities.

Is it possible for Shenzhen to catch up with or even surpass several rival cities? It's entirely possible. Why? We only analyze this problem from the perspective of the law of civilization development. The history of mankind shows that the development of a civilized body is unbalanced, as if it were a tidal wave with ups and downs, as if the back waves pushed the front waves in a big river, and as if the latecomers came from behind. The old civilization declined and disappeared; A new civilization has emerged and grown. Exploring the reasons, Toynbee believes that the emergence of civilization is the result of challenges. Without challenges and motivation, a mature society will decline and perish. Stavri and Anoos believe that civilization is the result of communication, and rising stars have the advantage of being late-comer, because learning is cheaper and faster than originality; To learn from the advanced experience of others is to start from a new starting point, stand on the shoulders of giants and naturally see further.

Shenzhen is a young city with the advantage of being a latecomer. Shenzhen is an immigrant city, and people from all corners of the country have brought rich and colorful immigrant culture, resulting in the hybrid advantage of culture; Shenzhen is a city that is good at learning. Learning from others' advanced experience enables Shenzhen to take shortcuts. The above points have caused Shenzhen's greatest innovation advantage, and "pioneering and innovating" has always been the city spirit that Shenzhen adheres to. In terms of innovation in the economic field alone, Shenzhen has made remarkable achievements: in 2007, R&D investment in the whole society accounted for about 3.34% of GDP, which has reached the level of advanced countries; Invention patent 19 198, ranking first in the national cities for two consecutive years; The number of PCT international patent applications is 2 170, accounting for 39.8% of the national total, ranking first in the country for four consecutive years; It was rated as "Brand Capital" in China, 80 products were awarded "China Famous Brand" and 3 "China World Famous Brand Products". In June 2008, the National Development and Reform Commission approved Shenzhen as the first batch of pilot projects to create a national innovative city, which is the highest praise for Shenzhen's innovative spirit.

After a new round of ideological emancipation, Shenzhen has formulated the Decision on Further Emancipating the Mind and Learning to Catch Up with the World's Advanced Cities and Several Opinions on Persisting in Reform and Opening-up, Promoting Scientific Development and Strive to Build a Model City in Socialism with Chinese characteristics. The goal and task of building Shenzhen into a model city of Socialism with Chinese characteristics is to hold high the banner of special economic zones. Aim at "one goal" and take the construction of Socialism with Chinese characteristics as the overall goal of Shenzhen's development; Adhere to the "two orientations", accelerate the internationalization towards the world, and create new development space for the whole country; Implement the "Nine Breakthroughs", actively explore bold breakthroughs in key areas such as developing socialist democratic politics, Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation, and international city construction, give full play to the role of radiation in leading the whole country, promote institutional reform and innovation, establish a modern industrial system and build an innovative city, strive to build a harmonious society, create a demonstration city of ecological civilization, enhance cultural soft power, innovate the system and mechanism of talent work, and strive to achieve the "four in one" coordinated development of economic, political, cultural and social construction.

Assumption of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Metropolis

Recently, Richard Florida, an American scholar, found that the lights in Shenzhen and Hong Kong are the brightest in the world when he studied the global luminous map through satellites. He predicted that there would be a global metropolis here and named it "Xiang Zhen". The news caused a sensation in Shenzhen. Perhaps because Hong Kong was originally a part of Shenzhen (formerly Bao 'an), Shenzhen people have a special complex for Hong Kong. It is also possible that being adjacent to Hong Kong is Shenzhen's greatest geographical advantage, and Shenzhen has always hoped to join hands with Hong Kong. Since the day when 1997 Hong Kong returned to the motherland, the Shenzhen government has continuously suggested that the two cities strengthen cooperation and develop together. In recent years, the enthusiasm of both sides has never been higher, and to a great extent, the consciousness of strengthening cooperation has been formed.

Is it better for the two cities to develop together into "twin cities" or to build an international metropolis? Of course there is. This is not 1+ 1 = 2, but 1+ 1 > 2. The two cities have developed separately, one is a second-rate city in the world and the other is a first-class city in the mainland. However, the common development of the two cities has created a first-class global metropolis.

Our definition of a global metropolis is: the largest city in the world, which plays an important role in the global economic development, has global radiation power and has a bright future development prospect. American scholar Milton? Friedman put forward seven indicators to measure world cities: major financial centers; The headquarters of multinational corporations; The degree of concentration of international institutions; The commercial sector (tertiary industry) is highly developed; The center of major manufacturing industries such as processing industry with international significance; International ports, international airports and other important world transportation hubs; The urban population reaches a certain scale and so on. Wang Lian (President of World Urban Economics Research Institute and Executive President of China Urban Management Association) thinks that there are only three first-class cities in the world: Tokyo, new york and London. Secondary cities 150, of which Hong Kong and Singapore are the best. According to the average growth rate of cities in recent years, by 2020, the total GDP of the top ten cities in the world will be: new york, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris and London. (Shenzhen Cultural Studies, No.2, 2008)

Some scholars are more optimistic about the development prospects of new york, London and Hongkong, and think that these three cities are the locomotives of the future world economic development. New york is strong because the United States has maintained its position as the strongest country in the world for a long time, and new york, as the largest immigrant city in the world, is full of vitality; London stands out because it has transformed into a world creative city with active thoughts; Hong Kong was elected because of the China factor. China will not only become the country with the strongest economic strength in the future, but also China culture is the most creative culture. As a result, enthusiastic linguists created an English word Newlunkong, which is a general term for new york, London and Hongkong.

Many scholars are interested in the study of "Twin Cities" and offer suggestions for the common development of the two cities. To sum up the analysis of scholars, Shenzhen-Hong Kong metropolis has the following characteristics: First, it has strong economic strength and a certain city scale. In 2007, the total GDP of Hongkong and Shenzhen reached more than 300 billion dollars, ranking first in the world, second only to Tokyo, new york and London. Judging from the scale of the city, the sum of the two places exceeds 3,000 square kilometers, and the population exceeds 20 million, surpassing Tokyo and London. Second, grasp the advantages of international and domestic markets. Hong Kong is a gathering place for international organizations, especially the headquarters of multinational corporations and representative offices of Asian countries, with abundant international resources and frequent exchanges of goods, personnel, capital and information. Shenzhen is the window of the country's reform and opening up, one of the core cities in the Pearl River Delta, and occupies an important position in the domestic economy. The close cooperation between the two cities can better play the role of communication between domestic and foreign markets. Third, the industrial structure is highly complementary. Hong Kong has a developed international service industry; Shenzhen is the manufacturing center of many products in the world. Without the manufacturing service industry, heroes are useless; The manufacturing industry lacking high-end service industry can only be a low-end processing industry with insufficient high added value. The separation of the two is defective; The combination of the two will double the advantages. Fourth, financial cooperation has broad prospects. Hong Kong is recognized as an international financial center in the Asia-Pacific region. There are many global financial institutions in Hong Kong with deposits exceeding HK$ 5.6 trillion. Shenzhen is a regional financial center in the Pearl River Delta, and the balance of deposits and loans of financial institutions has exceeded one trillion yuan. Hong Kong's securities trading volume ranks among the top seven in the world; Shenzhen is one of the two major securities trading centers in the Mainland, and the combined securities trading volume of Hong Kong and Shenzhen can rank among the top five in the world. The fifth is to have advanced urban infrastructure. Hong Kong and Shenzhen ports rank second and fourth among container ports in the world. The cargo volume of Hong Kong Airport ranks first in the world, Shenzhen Airport ranks fourth among mainland airports, and the total passenger traffic of the two airports ranks among the top ten in the world. With the cooperation between the two cities, the seaport has become the first in the world, and the ranking of airports has moved forward greatly. Sixth, the distance between the two cities is particularly close and the transportation is convenient, forming an "one-hour working and living circle".

What will happen if the two cities develop hand in hand? It is predicted that by 2020, new york's GDP will be 1.78 trillion US dollars, ranking first among cities in the world. The second place may be Tokyo 1.43 trillion US dollars. The economic aggregate of "Hong Kong-Shenzhen Metropolis" will reach1.1trillion US dollars, surpassing London, Paris, Chicago and Los Angeles, ranking third in the world. In fact, the common development of cities and surrounding areas has become a trend. The populations of new york and London are not much different from those of Hong Kong, only 8.2 million and 7.7 million respectively. However, it is highly integrated with the surrounding areas, forming a Greater new york with 22 million people and a Greater London with 654.38+0.2 million people. Only in this way can they have enough strength and advantages to radiate the whole United States and Britain, and then serve the whole world and become a veritable international metropolis.

The cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in building a global metropolis is not only beneficial to the two cities, but also beneficial to the country and the world.

First of all, it is good for both cities. If we become a "truth-oriented" or "Hong Kong-Shenzhen" global metropolis, we can compete with first-class global metropolises such as new york, Tokyo and London, and this city will make greater achievements and make a name for itself in the history of human civilization. This is a golden historical opportunity.

Secondly, it is good for the country. China is the country with the fastest economic development in the world. Economist Lin Yifu predicts that China will surpass the United States to become the country with the largest economic aggregate in the world around 2030 (Shanghai, China News Service, 20 August 2008). The country with the strongest economic strength will build a first-class global metropolis. Only the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region, the Yangtze River Delta region and the Pearl River Delta region can produce such cities in China, and the competitive advantage of the joint development of Hong Kong and Shenzhen is very obvious. China can produce a global metropolis, and China also needs a global metropolis. Cities are the leaders, locomotives and multipliers of a country or region's economic development. With such a metropolis, we can effectively integrate the country's overall economy and make it stronger. If there is no such metropolis, the momentum of national economic development will certainly be affected. It is conceivable that the United States could not become such a powerful country without new york, Britain without London and Japan without Tokyo. Gao Jingde (President of the Hong Kong Cultural Association) said: "Building Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle and building Hong Kong and Shenzhen into super international metropolises is not only for the sake of Hong Kong and Shenzhen themselves and the regional economy, but also for the needs of national reform and development and the great rejuvenation of the nation, and also for the needs of the new world economic structure. (Hong Wen Wei Po, February 26, 2008. )

Third, it is good for the world. Global metropolis is not only the locomotive of national or regional economic development, but also the hub of the world economy, which will have a great radiation and far-reaching impact on global economic development and ultimately play an important role in promoting the progress of human civilization. Just look at the article by Christopher, an American journalist, and you will understand this.