Guangdong business community urged to contribute to GBA development

Entrepreneurs and business representatives from Guangdong have been urged to help build a world-class Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by carrying forward their pioneering spirit to invest and root in the province.

Lin Keqing, chairman of the Guangdong Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said business people from the province have always been an indispensable and vital force for its reform and opening-up, and that a myriad of development opportunities have been created via the accelerated and integrated development of the Greater Bay Area.

He urged Guangdong entrepreneurs to achieve win-win cooperation in the province's high-level opening-up and high quality development in the months to come.

Lin made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2025 World Guangdong Entrepreneurs Convention in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, on Monday.

Lin said the provincial government would continue to foster a market-oriented, rules-based and internationalized first-class business environment to serve economic construction.

John Lee Ka-chiu, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), said the GBA, as an important engine for China's high-quality development, has an economic aggregate approaching 15 trillion yuan ($2.11 trillion), demonstrating its vitality.

"Business people from both Guangdong and Hong Kong should seize the historical opportunity, pool resources, pursue transformation and innovation, actively participate in the high-level development of the GBA and jointly inject new impetus into the country's high-quality development," Lee said.

Sam Hou-fai, chief executive of the Macao SAR, said construction of the GBA is now proceeding at full pace, opening up vast new opportunities for win-win cooperation between Guangdong and Macao.

Zheng Yongnian, director of the School of Public Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), said he believes investing in the GBA equals investing in the future.

"The GBA, with the highest level of openness and the most dynamic economy, is expected to become a world economic center, the largest one, and a scientific and technological innovation center, as the region enjoys a stable social and economic environment and stable investment policies when compared with other areas around the world," Zheng said.

Economic, technological and social development depends not only on sound infrastructure, but also on a stable social and political environment, he said, adding that entrepreneurs and business representatives from Guangdong should seize the opportunities (to invest or expand their investment in the GBA).

According to the Blue Book on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: Report on the Construction of the GBA (2025), the GBA achieved an economic output of 14.79 trillion yuan in 2024, surpassing the two world-class bay areas of New York and San Francisco, and ranking alongside the Tokyo Bay Area in terms of economic scale.

Entrepreneurs and business representatives signed a total of 24 projects valued at 44.46 billion yuan at the convention, demonstrating their strong confidence in the development of the GBA.

The projects, mainly involving artificial intelligence, semiconductors, networks and communications, not only feature cutting-edge layouts focused on scientific and technological innovation, but also include solid measures for deepening engagement in the real economy and further encompass open cooperation that connects resources at home and abroad, showcasing the strategic vision and pragmatic spirit of the Cantonese business community.

Li Dongsheng, founder and chairman of Chinese consumer electronics maker TCL Technology Group Corp, said the GBA, boasting a complete industrial and supply chain system, has formed a number of trillion-yuan-level electronic information industry clusters and established a relative competitive advantage.

"TCL has invested a total of 82.5 billion yuan in Guangdong over the past five years," he said.

"And just a few days ago, we announced an additional investment of 29.5 billion yuan to build a printed OLED display panel factory in Guangzhou, consolidating the GBA's leading position in the global display industry."

Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, chairman of Hong Kong's Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, said companies from Guangdong and Hong Kong should anchor themselves to the GBA's positioning, deepen industrial synergy and complementarity, and identify their roles in the entire "R&D-manufacturing-circulation-service" chain to jointly seize the commanding heights in the process of establishing an open economic system aligned with international standards.

Choi urged Guangdong and Hong Kong to work together to build logistics hubs and enhance the resilience of the supply chain.

Chau Chak Wing, chairman of Kingold Group, said, as a frontier of reform and opening-up, Guangdong has always been a hot spot for investment.

"With the in-depth advancement of GBA construction, its capabilities in global resource allocation and innovation origination continue to strengthen, making it one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world," he said.