Innovative coordination key to bay area

In March 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce jointly issued a plan to promote the Belt and Road Initiative, and one of the aims is deepening cooperation with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. And in March last year, the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a guideline for deepening cooperation in the pan-Pearl River Delta region with the aim of developing the bay area of South China's Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions into a world-class city cluster.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area includes Hong Kong, Macao and the Pearl River Delta city cluster in southern China. Spreading over 50,000 square kilometers with a population of 68 million, the bay area has a GDP of $1.3 trillion, and is densely populated and economically prosperous.

Given these factors, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area has the potential to be developed into the world's fourth-largest bay area - after the New York Bay Area and San Francisco Bay Area in the United States, and the Tokyo Bay Area in Japan. By realizing that potential, the authorities can ensure the long-term prosperity of Hong Kong and Macao and facilitate the rapid growth of the pan-PRD region.