Guangdong promotes Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area construction

On March 2, the People's Government of Guangdong Province held a press conference to promote Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area construction and introduce progress made and future plans.

It outlined the drafting background and main content of the two supporting documents for the implementation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan.

An integrated and coordinated working mechanism has been established to ensure that all work is carried out in a strong and orderly manner in accordance with the directions of the central government.

Six special teams for infrastructure interconnection, modern industrial systems, Hong Kong and Macao youth innovation and entrepreneurship base construction, ecological environmental protection, international science and technology innovation center construction, and financial cooperation were established to strengthen coordination and cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

The nine cities have also established a working mechanism to promote the construction and formed a working situation where provinces and cities are closely linked.

The construction of an international science and technology innovation center has been actively promoted.The scientific devices of the Chinese Academy of Sciences officially started construction, and the establishment of a comprehensive national science center was also promoted.

The construction of cross-border infrastructure has been accelerated, and a network of internal and external connected infrastructure has been gradually developed. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge was officially opened and the Zhuhai Port and Macao Port promoted cooperation in customs inspection and clearance. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway was also opened to traffic.

The business environment's internationalization and marketization has been continuously improved. Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao's investment and trade liberalization continued to be deepened. Guangdong's open service sector to Hong Kong and Macao reached 153 services, 95.6% of the 160 categories specified by WTO trade services.

Financial cooperation has also been deepened. The UnionPay cloud flash payment APP landed in Hong Kong and Macao. We Chat's Hong Kong wallet was officially made available to Hong Kong users in the Chinese mainland.

Next, Guangdong will steadily introduce policies and measures to facilitate development for Hong Kong and Macao residents.

Guangdong drafted a series of supporting documents such as Implementation Opinions and Three-Year Action Plan, forming a construction drawing and task book for promoting the construction of the Greater Bay Area. The two documents will soon be issued and implemented.

The Implementation Opinions mainly refers to the task requirements given to Guangdong and puts forward specific measures for implementation in light of the actual situation. It is in three parts -- major significance, overall requirements and key tasks.

The Three-Year Action Plan mainly reflects medium-term arrangements for promoting the construction of the Greater Bay Area in Guangdong, dividing the key tasks into nine aspects and a total of 100 key initiatives.

The Greater Bay Area Office is still studying and formulating the key work points to promote constructionin 2019.