Why Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Foshan may benefit more than Shenzhen from regional integration

The GBA’s silent winners [AI GENERATED ILLUSTRATION]

Analysis

For years, the Greater Bay Area has largely been framed as a Shenzhen success story. The city became China’s tech capital, attracting talent, investment and policy support at remarkable speed. But beneath the attention surrounding AI, robotics and semiconductors, another trend is quietly taking shape across the western Pearl River Delta.

Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Foshan may ultimately gain more from regional integration than Shenzhen itself. The reason is simple: Shenzhen is running out of room.

Success has made the city expensive. Land costs are high, industrial space is tighter and manufacturing operations increasingly struggle with overheads. As Shenzhen moves further toward finance, technology and research, parts of the industrial economy are shifting outward.

That creates opportunities for neighboring cities.

Foshan already has one of China’s strongest manufacturing bases, especially in appliances, machinery and industrial supply chains. Mainland business outlet Yicai and policy reports cited by China Daily have repeatedly highlighted Foshan’s role in advanced manufacturing and industrial upgrading within the Greater Bay Area.

Jiangmen offers a different advantage: land and logistics. As reported by China Daily Hong Kong in March, mainland planners increasingly view Jiangmen as a future multimodal transport and logistics hub for the western side of the GBA. The report pointed to lower operating costs, available land resources and improving transport links as major competitive advantages.

Zhongshan may be the clearest example of how infrastructure changes regional economics. The Shenzhen–Zhongshan Link has dramatically reduced travel times across the Pearl River Delta. According to official Greater Bay Area transport material published on the GBA government portal, the region’s long-term strategy is to create a highly integrated “one-hour living circle” through bridges, railways and cross-border infrastructure.

That is one of the less discussed effects of GBA integration. It does not only strengthen major cities – it also raises the value of nearby secondary cities.

Chinese policymakers appear increasingly aware of this. Recent analysis of China’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan by China Briefing noted that Beijing is emphasizing coordinated regional development and industrial integration rather than concentrating growth in a single megacity. The objective is a more balanced economic network where cities develop complementary functions.

That shift favors cities such as Foshan, Zhongshan and Jiangmen.

Historically, major metropolitan regions often reach a point where surrounding cities grow faster than the core. The dominant city becomes expensive and crowded, while improved transport allows businesses to relocate nearby without losing access to markets, ports or talent.

The same process may now be unfolding in the Greater Bay Area.