A team headed by Xian Hui, vice-chairwoman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), visited South China's Guangdong province from March 17 to 20. The team was there to inspect progress in the building of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) into an international hub for science and technology innovation. The team also conducted a survey on strengthening regulatory alignment and institutional integration within the region. 

During visits to the cities of Shenzhen, Zhongshan and Guangzhou, the team toured major sci-tech cooperation platforms, innovation centers, research institutions and sci-tech innovation enterprises to learn more about local efforts in these areas. They also visited CPPCC National Committee members' workplaces and held discussions with relevant departments. 

The team noted that developing the GBA into a world-class innovation hub is an honorable mission and major responsibility assigned by the Communist Party of China Central Committee. To achieve the mission, it is essential to reinforce the GBA's strategic positioning and support the GBA in becoming a key driver of China's new development pattern. Efforts should focus on building a complete innovation chain, accelerate the cultivation and development of new quality productive forces, and position the GBA as a model for high-quality development. The ultimate goal is to establish the GBA as a global leader in sci-tech innovation and an internationally leading bay area with distinct Chinese characteristics and global influence, while reinforcing its role as a leading region in Chinese modernization. 

The team also called for leveraging Hong Kong and Macao's unique advantages to build a community of shared interests within the innovation chain, and advance high-quality development of the cause of "one country, two systems".