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Beyond 2018 2018 has come to an end and 2019 has arrived. China Daily summarizes a series of incidents last year whose influence will be felt this year. 

Connectivity

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge officially opened to traffic on Oct 24. Covering a distance of 55 kilometers, the bridge is the longest sea-crossing of its kind in the world, and it has been hailed as the one of seven wonders of the modern world by overseas media outlets.

? Expert: Mao Yanhua, a professor at the Center for Studies on Hong Kong, Macao and Pearl River Delta at the Research Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is a major construction project led by the central government. It connects Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai, the three main cities in the Pearl River Delta area, like blood vessels connecting different human organs.

The opening of the bridge will provide a boost to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the surrounding areas such as Shenzhen.

More importantly, the bridge will strengthen the interaction among cities, not only in the Greater Bay Area, but also in the whole of Guangdong province.
Even the neighboring regions will benefit, too. Cities in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, for instance, will gain more development opportunities.

Progress

The Korean Peninsula experienced a dramatic breakthrough with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea making great progress in relations with the United States and the Republic of Korea. Will the three countries be able to untie the nuclear knot in 2019?

? Expert: Liu Litao, a researcher of international relations in Nanjing University

The historic summit between DPRK and US leaders in June promoted bilateral communication and the agreement for Pyongyang to dismantle some nuclear test sites in exchange for Washington's promise of a security guarantee.

Relations between the DPRK and the ROK also made progresses. The leaders of the two countries met three times and jointly issued their Panmunjom Declaration and Pyongyang Declaration.

However, the Peninsula cannot go straight to complete denuclearization and peace mechanism this year. Its nuclear weapons are the only chips that Pyongyang can use to bargain with Washington, and Washington has not yet provided a security guarantee to it. Also, the US has not relieved any of its sanctions against Pyongyang. Instead, the progress in inter-Korean relations has caused the US to warn that they should not exceed the Peninsula's denuclearization process.

Although Pyongyang is not strong enough to challenge Washington, Washington can hardly give in on the Peninsula issue, as it is an important tool for the US to gain advantage in East Asia.

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