GBA sets tone for 15th Five-Year Plan as 2026 opens

As China entered the opening weeks of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), Guangdong signalled the Greater Bay Area’s central role in stabilising growth and upgrading industry. Official briefings around the New Year highlighted priorities including advanced manufacturing, digital trade, and deeper Hong Kong–Macau integration with the nine mainland GBA cities. Authorities reiterated plans to accelerate major projects such as the Guangzhou–Zhuhai–Macau high-speed rail, cross-border data flows, and coordinated innovation platforms linking Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. According to China News Service, the GBA is expected to anchor national growth while absorbing external uncertainty from trade and technology tensions. Analysts cited by mainland media framed the region as a testing ground for policy coordination, with “soft connectivity” – standards, services and finance – now as important as physical infrastructure.