28/03/2024 - 10:44:17

About the Bay Area

 1. Introduction to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

The construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a significant national strategy planned, carried out and advocated by President Xi Jinping in 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China collaboratively released the Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st -Century Maritime Silk Road. It was the first time that the “Greater Bay Area” was mentioned in the state’s official document when the “Building of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” was proposed in the “Belt and Road” Initiative. In 2017, witnessed by President Xi Jinping, the National Development and Reform Commission, the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Macao SAR Government inked the Framework Agreement on Deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Co-operation in the Development of the Bay Area, which sets out the prototype of division of labour, co-operation direction and co-ordination mechanism for the governments of the three areas. It is mentioned in the report at the 19th CPC National Congress that the country will “continue to support Hong Kong and Macao in integrating their own development into the overall development of the country. The country will give priority to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, co-operation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and regional co-operation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta, thus fully advancing mutually beneficial co-operation between the mainland and the two regions.” In 2018, Premier Li Keqiang proposed in the Government Work Report to launch the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with a view to promoting the mutually beneficial collaboration between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. In August 2018, the Central Government established the Leading Group for Development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, symbolising that the implementation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s construction. In February, the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was launched, which further clarifies the development positions and functions of different cities in the Greater Bay Area.

In October 2022, the ” 20th CPC National Congress ” report emphasised the “promotion of the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, supporting Hong Kong and Macao to better integrate into the overall national development and play a better role in realising the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” In April 2023, President Xi Jinping, during his inspection of Guangdong, once again gave instructions on the Greater Bay Area, stating that the Greater Bay Area should become a strategic fulcrum of the new development pattern, a demonstration area for high-quality development, and a leading area for China’s modernisation with Chinese characteristics, thereby providing a new positioning for the construction of the Greater Bay Area. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area includes the Macao Special Administrative Region, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and nine cities in Guangdong province: Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan and Zhuhai. In 2022, the total area of the Greater Bay Area was 56,000 square kilometres, with a population of over 86 million and an economic aggregate of RMB13 trillion. It is one of the regions in China with the highest degree of openness and the strongest economic vitality.

2. Macao’s Role in the Development of the Greater Bay Area

As one of the four central cities serving as the “core engine” of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area regional development, the Macao SAR has positioned itself as the “World Centre of Tourism and Leisure” and the “Commercial and Trade Co-operation Service Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries”. It aims to create a “base of exchange and co-operation with traditional Chinese culture as mainstream and other cultures flourishing in harmony”, leveraging advantages such as being a free port, separate customs territory, and a simple and low taxation system under the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”. Macao boasts a superior business environment and exhibits distinct characteristics and roles among the cities in the Greater Bay Area.

To better integrate into the construction of the Greater Bay Area, the Macao SAR government is actively promoting the development of relevant systems and mechanisms. This includes increasing support for technological innovation and establishing four Macao state key laboratories in traditional Chinese medicine, chip technology, the Internet of Things, and space science. Together with other cities in the Greater Bay Area, Macao is working towards the construction of the “Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao” Technological Innovation Corridor. By gathering international innovation resources, the goal is to achieve innovation-driven development, enhance the capacity for technology transfer, and strive to make the Greater Bay Area an international hub for scientific and technological innovation. Additionally, the Macao SAR government is implementing the “Second Five-Year Development Plan of the Macao Special Administrative Region (2021-2025)” and has formulated the “Appropriately Diversified Economic Development Plan of the Macao Special Administrative Region (2024-2028).” Following the “1+4” strategy for appropriately diversified economic development, efforts are being made to consolidate and enhance the comprehensive tourism and leisure industry, accelerate the development of the traditional Chinese medicine and big health industries, modern finance, high-tech, conventions and exhibitions, as well as culture and sport.. This aims to better align with the national “14th Five-Year Plan” and implement the “Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” more effectively.