Longyan, a city in Fujian Province in southeast China, is gearing up for a more productive relationship with economic powerhouse Guangzhou, capital of neighboring Guangdong Province. Under a framework agreement signed on February 14, the two cities will further cooperation in a wide range of areas including culture, tourism, infrastructure, industrial development, rural revitalization, environmental protection, education, science and technology, healthcare, state-owned assets, finance and human resources.

A National Development and Reform Commission action plan aimed at supporting former revolutionary bases formalized the partnership between Longyan and Guangzhou in May 2022. The two cities have since worked together to make the most of their respective strengths for win-win outcomes.

Last year saw the inauguration of direct high-speed rail and air links between the cities. Headway was also made in the construction of a railway from Longyan to Longchuan, a county in Guangdong, the Guangzhou-Longchuan expressway and the Longyan section of the expressway from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, to Chaozhou City in Guangdong.

Longyan lies in a mountainous region, which was a Communist Party of China (CPC)-led revolutionary base in the 1930s, whereas Guangzhou is a coastal metropolis in the burgeoning Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Their differences can be turned into opportunities.

For instance, there are limitless possibilities for industrial synergy. Longyan prioritizes the real economy, with a focus on multi-billion-dollar industries such as nonferrous metals, machinery, tourism and construction. In recent years, emerging industries of strategic importance have thrived, registering an annual output increase of at least 30 percent. Notably, Longyan has full-fledged industrial chains in sectors including rare earths, lithium-ion batteries and fluorine-containing new materials. Also, as a national-level demonstration production base for specialty vehicles and emergency response equipment, Longyan looks forward to broader cooperation with Guangzhou in the automobile business.

Innovation has delivered blue ocean opportunities to Longyan. The city has been designated by the central authorities as an innovation-driven city and a pilot city for boosting consumption in culture and tourism. It has also gained approval to establish national-level pilot zones for inclusive finance and cross-border e-commerce. All these testify to its potential for growth. Longyan takes pride in its Internet-savvy entrepreneurs. Natives of the city have established more than 30,000 companies in the digital economy at home and abroad, with a combined market value exceeding 5 trillion yuan ($727.5 billion), which is equivalent to about one eighth of the total output of China's digital economy. They include heavyweights such as Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok parent company ByteDance, Wang Xing, founder of Internet giant Meituan, and Liao Jieyuan, founder of online healthcare platform WeDoctor. The digital economy will make a strong contribution to the success of Longyan's partnership with Guangzhou.

Tourism is another area with strong cooperation potential. Guangzhou, renowned worldwide for its cultural appeal, is a popular tourist destination. Longyan, for its part, has been recognized by the central authorities as a demonstration zone for ecological progress, a garden city and a forest city for its well-preserved natural environment. It has a number of renowned places of interest. Tulou, the massive earthen communal homes of the Hakka people—a branch of the Han Chinese who migrated to the south in ancient times—hold UNESCO World Heritage status. The venue of the Gutian Congress in 1929, a milestone meeting in the CPC's history, is now an educational site for promoting revolutionary spirit. Longyan is also celebrated for its Hakka cuisine. It beckons Guangzhou residents with both red (revolutionary) and green (eco-environmental) attractions, diverse local customs and wellness services.

The Longyan-Guangzhou collaboration is poised to be accelerated by mechanisms for exchanges between city leaders, communication between government departments and partnerships between their counties and districts.

Fan Xixian, former Guangdong Vice Governor and Vice Chairperson of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, gave his endorsement for the partnership. Fan, 106, was born in Yongding District in Longyan. He took part in the Long March, an arduous 12,500-km-long strategic maneuver undertaken by the CPC-led Red Army from 1934 to 1936, and worked in Guangdong from 1949, the year the People's Republic of China was founded, until his retirement. He called on Longyan to avail itself of the partnership to advance its development.

Chen Yunxian, another former Guangdong Vice Governor, is also a Longyan native. He said Longyan boasts solid industrial foundations, while Guangzhou distinguishes itself with a large talent pool, technological prowess, and access to funding and huge markets. Their strengthened cooperation is not only evidence of the high hopes pinned by the central authorities on Longyan, but also contributes to the high-quality development of the Chinese economy at large, Chen said. It is his belief that the two complementary cities will work in concert to improve market connectivity, upgrade industries and achieve shared prosperity.