Macau, HK, Shenzhen, Guangzhou | The four cores of the Greater Bay Area

China’s State Council has unveiled its ambitious vision for the Greater Bay Area, linking Macau and Hong Kong with cities in southern China to create a high-tech megalopolis rivaling California’s Silicon Valley.

The four cities of Macau, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou will form the nucleus of the Greater Bay Area under a strategy that stretches to 2035.

Released yesterday, the plan said the government will seek to turn the area into a leading global innovation hub, boost infrastructure connectivity between cities, and play to the respective strengths of the participating municipalities.

Under the blueprint, the major cities of the Greater Bay Area will establish themselves as hubs for different sectors.

Hong Kong will focus on international finance, navigation and trade. Macau will be an international tourism city and a platform for trade with Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil. Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, will take a role as an administrative hub while Shenzhen – home to Huawei Technologies Co. – will expand its role as a special economic zone and tech hub.

The government will support Hong Kong and Macau banks and insurers in setting up units in some cities including Shenzhen and Guangzhou, according to the document. China will also study setting up a yuan-denominated securities market in Macau, as well as strengthen Hong Kong’s role as the center for the offshore yuan business.

The region – with more than 67 million residents – would boast a trillion-dollar economy and eclipse Japan as the world’s fourth-largest exporter, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.

According to the plan, the skeleton structure of world-class city cluster should be achieved by 2022, at which point regional integration will be expedited. By 2035 markets within the bay area should be highly-connected with unimpeded trade flows.

The long-awaited plan has led to some unease in the two special administrative regions that further integration will erode the autonomy that allows the cities to maintain separate legal, monetary and political systems from China.

China has already spent billions of dollars on infrastructure projects linking the cities. President Xi Jinping last year inaugurated a USD15 billion, 55-kilometer bridge, the world’s longest sea crossing, linking Hong Kong with Macau and the mainland city of Zhuhai. In September, Hong Kong plugged into China’s 15,500-mile high-speed rail network with a futuristic new terminus overlooking the Victoria Harbor. DB/Agencies

Chui to lead delegation Thursday

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Chui Sai On is slated to attend a seminar in Hong Kong on Thursday where the outline development plan for the Greater Bay Area will be introduced. Chui will lead a 50-member government delegation that includes Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong and the director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau, Mi Jian, amongst others. The Chief Executive is also expected to deliver a speech at the event.