The 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held in Beijing on July 10 its 47th biweekly consultative meeting on promoting high-quality coordinated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, presided over the meeting.

Wang said that since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to the development of the GBA, rolling out a series of major cooperation platforms, key projects and important reform measures. These efforts have propelled the GBA to become one of the regions in China with the highest degree of openness and strongest economic vitality, fully demonstrating the institutional strengths and vibrant dynamism of "one country, two systems", he noted.

Wang emphasized that the CPPCC should support the GBA in evolving into a strategic pivot for the new development paradigm, a model for high-quality development and a leading area for Chinese modernization. He said that in-depth research should be conducted on key issues such as promoting coordinated planning across the three regions, building collaborative innovation systems, elevating market integration, driving deep integrated development in public welfare sectors and strengthening high-level collaborative opening-up.

Insights and recommendations reflecting relevant developments should be submitted through inspections, field studies, public opinion reports, and proposals, he said. Experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs among CPPCC members should make use of their positions and professional expertise to play a greater role in advancing the high-quality coordinated development of the GBA, Wang said.

Several CPPCC National Committee members and an expert spoke at the meeting. They agreed that guided by the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), the unique advantages of Hong Kong and Macao should be harnessed to integrate high-quality resources, deepen the coordinated development across Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macao, and build a world-class bay area. It is essential to enhance infrastructure connectivity, advance the "soft connectivity" of rules and mechanisms, foster a highly efficient and integrated market landscape and elevate the open economy of the GBA to a new level, they said.

They also urged expanding scientific and technological openness and cooperation among Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macao, intensify the efforts to build the GBA into an international center for sci-tech innovation, and support breakthroughs in key core technologies. Furthermore, they said, more efforts should be made to deepen the integration and sharing of public services across the three regions, implementing policies in education, employment, healthcare, and elderly care to create a high-quality living circle conducive to living, working and traveling.

Vice-chairpersons of the CPPCC National Committee Hu Chunhua, Ho Hau Wah, Leung Chun-ying and Xian Hui attended the meeting. Leading officials from the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology briefed the participants on relevant developments and engaged in consultations and exchanges with CPPCC members.