The governments of Hainan province, Guangdong province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region reached an agreement in Haikou on May 9 prioritizing cooperation in implementing the development plan of the Beibu Gulf urban cluster from 2018 to 2019.

The State Council approved the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration Development Plan on Jan 20 last year. Since then, the three regions have formed a cooperative mechanism encompassing various levels of decision-making, coordination and execution. To promote the implementation of the development plan, high-level government officials hold face-to-face meetings every year and discuss important cooperation projects and other matters.

Under the agreement, the three regions will strengthen cooperation in five sectors, including the advancement of transportation infrastructure facilities, the improvement of joint-action mechanisms in ecological management to better protect the environment, the building of major opening-up platforms, and the strengthening of communication.

Preliminary work in the planning and construction of a high-speed railway project -- which will link the cities of Zhangjiajie, Guilin, Yulin, Zhanjiang and Haikou -- will be launched, and the three sides will try to integrate the project into concerned national plans, according to the agreement.

A unified and efficient environmental monitoring system will be established and a smooth transportation channel that connects the Qiongzhou Strait will be built. Besides, the three regions will also build a marine economic demonstration zone together.

Industrial linkage development will be accelerated to boost the planning and construction of the Qiongzhou Strait Economic Belt and jointly build world-class tourist destinations. Moreover, efforts will be made to actively connect the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area via construction of main transport infrastructure, an international aviation hub and a marine economic demonstration area.