Logistic Network Construction and Economic Linkage Development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: An Analysis Based on Spatial Perspective

Abstract

Regional logistic networks and linking urban clusters to boost high quality economic development are both key topics in sustainable development in China. In recent years, China has highlighted the significance of the logistics industry and urban cluster development, attaching practical importance to the connections between these two topics from a spatial perspective. This paper aims to discuss how regional logistic networks linking urban clusters improve economic development. This study constructs a logistic evaluation indicator system based on the multi-indicator data of 11 cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in 2020. This research employs the entropy-weighted-TOPSIS method to measure and rank the comprehensive logistics quality of each city in the economically linked logistic network of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This study applies the modified gravity model to explore the logistics linkage and logistic network characteristics of each city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Finally, this research analyzes how the agglomeration ability of the central cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area affects other cities from a spatial perspective. Furthermore, this spatial perspective investigates the agglomeration effect of the economic linkage logistic network through the social network analysis method. The results have the following three implications. (1) The logistic network has a high density, a stable overall structure with a strong agglomeration effect, and there is an increasingly mature logistic network development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the Bay Area. (2) Agglomeration is significant in the central cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area including Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Macao. Nonetheless, insufficient peripheral cities have been cultivated. Therefore, the government should focus on strengthening the balance of urban development in the bay area and improving the logistics access among cities to break through the barriers of regional synergistic development. (3) The economic development of cities is highly correlated with the level of logistics links. Additionally, the economy is the cornerstone to promoting the high-quality development of the logistics industry. Moreover, the economy and logistics are inseparable, mutually promoted, and developed together.