China's Silicon Valley dream faces large roadblocks, bumps against reality

While China has moved to make it easier for people from Hong Kong and Macau to live and work in the mainland, challenges remain

Build it and they will come. Maybe.

President Xi Jinping’s grand plan to bind Hong Kong and Macau with the southern tip of China using the world’s longest bridge and a cross-border bullet train faces some large roadblocks.

The “Greater Bay Area” is an attempt to create an economic cluster rivaling those in San Francisco and Tokyo, by deepening links between China’s former European colonies and nine cities in neighboring Guangdong province.

The project has plenty going for it from an economic standpoint. Hong Kong offers capital-markets expertise, the technology hub of Shenzhen is bursting with cash-hungry startups, and Macau’s is the world’s