Photo via China News Service

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which China aims to build into an international first-class bay area and world-class city cluster, has been brought under the spotlight during the Two Sessions.

The bay area consists of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and nine cities in Guangdong Province, with a combined population of about 70 million at the end of 2017 and a gross domestic product of about $1.48 trillion in 2017, according to Xinhua.

Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), brought several suggestions to this year’s two sessions, including setting up a unified information sharing platform for the Greater Bay Area.

The platform will contain detailed and transparent information with specific guidance to assist enterprises and individuals from Hong Kong and Macao to travel to the mainland for study and work and to secure longer residence.

Neil Shen Nanpeng, a member of the 13th Chinese People Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee who is the founder and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China, proposed facilitating the flow of financial data in the Greater Bay Area by setting up a bid data pilot project in Hong Kong.

Specifically, Shen suggested the pilot project should be launched in certain areas in the financial industry that are of lower risk, including anti-fraud and anti-money laundering services. Through big data sharing, the project is expected to boost the Greater Bay Area’s financial risks management capability for demonstration purposes.

The financial technology pilot project will not only strengthen the status of Hong Kong’s international financial center, but also improve the convenience of residents in the Greater Bay Area and promote the development of all walks of life, Shen said.

Lao Ngai Leong, a Macao deputy to the NPC who is president of the Association of Returned Overseas Chinese Macao, said he is most concerned about construction of the Greater Bay Area, which will help Hong Kong and Macao integrate with national development. Lao especially emphasized that the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge should be tapped into its full use to further facilitate the customs clearance between the Chinese mainland and the two special administrative regions.

Promoting the development of the Greater Bay Area is a major decision made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core.

For Hong Kong and Macao, Xi has said, the implementation of national strategies such as the Greater Bay Area development presents significant new opportunities.

In October 2017, development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was mentioned in the report Xi delivered at the 19th CPC National Congress, Xinhua reported.