Scale Politics Amid Spatial Governance: A Case Study of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Rapid regional economic development and urban growth in China pose new theoretical and practical demands for enhanced national spatial governance. However, existing political science theories, such as scientific hierarchy, block politics, and corporatism, though rooted in the local context, lack a spatial dimension. Conversely, geographical theories focusing on administrative regional economies and industrial functional zones are predominantly grounded in Western new regionalism and lack a locally-based perception. To address this gap, this study employs a scale political perspective, integrating theories from new Marxist geography and relevant theories of "state spatiality." By elucidating the performative and discursive characteristics of spatial governance, this study extends the discussion to the threefold abstraction of scale politics in the relationships among various actors, constructing an explanatory theory for spatial governance mechanisms. Through a conceptual framework of "material, discursive, and relational" scales, this article explores the mechanisms linking spatial governance representations, measures, and underlying reasons. It examines four projects: Lok Ma Chau, Hong Kong Science Park, Pearl River Delta Intercity Railway, and Shenzhen Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone. These projects demonstrate how competition-oriented inter-city relationships have significantly enhanced the efficiency of capital circulation and development.However, the lack of robust national supervision and regional mediation poses challenges in providing a in providing a safety net during economic downturns. In contrast, China's socialist market economic system has both free flow at the market level and internal regulation of the bureaucratic system. The administrative structure of state, province, and city has established an interactive channel between the state and the locals. On the one hand, the governance decisions made by the state and provincial governments have formal authority and use administrative power to ensure fair regional development opportunities; on the other hand, projects with institutional bottlenecks are promoted through the rulings and mediation of high-level governments. In contrast to the essence of competitive city-regionalism, which seeks to maximize development benefits, China's spatial governance adheres to a balance between fairness and efficiency. This development value is reflected in the supervision and mediation of national and provincial governments. At the core of spatial governance is the rational allocation of regional development factors. How to define "rationality" is the key to establishing local governance theory. The research indicates the following: (1) In the spatial governance of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, there is a centralizing trend driven by regional coordination and a localizing trend driven by urban development. These two trends interact dynamically with one another. (2) Regional integration or fragmented spatial strategies represent centralized and localized power, reflecting strategic choices made by multilevel governments in alignment with current socioeconomic benefits. (3) The evolution of scale politics is determined by the unequal regional development status and competitive-cooperative relationships. In conclusion, this article emphasizes the fundamental differences between Chinese spatial governance and Western "competitive city-regionalism" in seeking to maximize development interests. It asserts a commitment to fairness and efficiency, a value system evident in the regulatory and mediating roles of national- and provincial-level governments.