VOA常速英语2019--大湾区或带动下一轮经济浪潮（在线收听）

China is stepping up its efforts, so announcing a long-awaited plan to link up its southern Pearl River Delta into a massive hub of technology, research, finance and innovation.

中国正在加大力度，宣布了一项期待已久的计划，旨在将南部珠江三角洲连接起来，形成一个庞大的中心，集技术、研发、金融和创新于一身。

The possibilities and challenges of the project are both equally challenging and promising, according to analysts.

一些分析师认为，该项目的可能性和挑战性既有远大前景，又有挑战性。

Some describe the plan as an attempt to create a mega-city to rival Silicon Valley, the U.S. technology powerhouse that is home to companies such as Google, Facebook, and Apple.

一些人认为，该计划旨在打造一个特大城市，可与硅谷相匹敌。硅谷是美国的强心脏，这里有许多公司，如谷歌、脸书、苹果。

But while Silicon Valley has a population of 3.1 million, the Greater Bay Area will link up nine cities together with Hong Kong and Macau with a total population of about 70 million, and the economic heft, state media argues, to drive the Chinese economy, let alone the world.

不过，虽然硅谷有310万的人口，但大湾区将可以将9座城市与香港澳门连通，覆盖近7000万总人口。据官媒报道，该地区的经济实力可以驱动中国经济，乃至世界经济。

The plan announced recently is expected to be a prominent topic during high-level political meetings going on this month in Beijing. It is not necessarily new. China’s opening up to the world more than four decades ago began in the south, and the Pearl River Delta has long been home to some of the country’s leading companies from telecommunications – such as Huawei to Internet giant Tencent and host of other technology and manufacturing enterprises.

最近宣布的这项计划预计成为热门话题，出现在本月将于北京举行的高层政治会议上。这个话题并不第一次出现。中国对外开放已有四十余载，始于南部城市，而珠江三角洲长期以来一直是中国多家领头企业的大本营，行业从通信——比如华为，到互联网大咖腾讯以及其他技术和制造业的领头企业。

It’s (the plan) a natural evolution of economic growth and the growth engine, said Adam Xu, partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants. If you really look at history in China, a lot of top down plans always have some bottom up support. A lot of economic activity has already happened there, then you have a grand plan to first officially recognize, then to promote and to further accelerate.

该计划是经济发展和经济引擎的自然演进，欧洲企业战略咨询公司合伙人徐晋如是说道。纵观中国历史，很多自上而下的规划总是能获得自下而上的支持。这里已经发生了许多的经济活动，接下来就需要一个宏大的规划来进行首次官方的认可，然后进行推动和进一步加速。

Xu said that as labor costs rise in China, the country is looking to move up the industrial value chain, and the program seeks to do just that to push the region on to the next wave, be it the manufacturing of electric cars, financial services or telecommunications.

徐晋表示，随着中国劳动力成本的上升，中国将开始提升产业链价值，而该项目正是寻求实现这个目标，从而推动珠江三角洲地区达到下一次浪潮——这个浪潮可以出现在电动车制造业、金融服务业、通信业。

China has already taken major strides to overcome some of the physical obstacles such as linking Hong Kong with Guangzhou and Shenzhou by high-speed rail and its recent opening of the 55-kilometer Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.

中国已经取得了重大进展，克服了诸多物理障碍，如通过建设高速铁路连通了香港、广州和深圳；而且最近还开放了长达55公里的港珠澳大桥。