The GBA Cities

The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area (GD-HK-MO; simplified Chinese: 粤港澳大湾区; traditional Chinese: 粵港澳大灣區; pinyin: Yuègǎngào dàwānqū) also referred as the Greater Bay Area (GBA), is a megalopolis, consisting of nine cities and two special administrative regions in South China. It is envisioned as an integrated economic area aimed at taking a leading role globally by 2035.

It is the largest and most populated urban area and is among the four largest bay areas in the world, comparable with the bay areas of New York City, Tokyo, and San Francisco Bay. The GBA – with a total population of approximately 71.2 million people (5% of China’s total population) – includes nine mega cities of Guangdong province: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing as well as two special administrative regions, Hong Kong, and Macau. Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have been described among the world’s 50 “superstar cities”. Surrounding the Pearl River Delta with a total area of 56,000 km2, it is the largest and the richest economic region in South China.

The GBA’s combined regional GDP is US$1,641.97 billion in 2018, which is equivalent to 12 percent of GDP for all of China and would rank the GBA as the 12th biggest economy in the world. The GBA also accounts for 37% of the China’s exports.

As one of China’s most vibrant and important regions, the GBA has the highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country and houses a majority of China’s most innovative technology companies, such as Huawei, ZTE, DJI, and Tencent (mother company of WeChat). GBA has a rich ecosystem of startups, incubators, and accelerators in the fields of agile tech, biotech, medical tech, and innovation. For these reasons, many experts consider the region an emerging Silicon Valley of Asia. Given traditional divisions between the provincial and municipal governments and business elites, there are some opinions that the ambitious idea behind the GBA might be difficult to implement.

The GBA is represented by megacities connected by a modern transportation system, such as large airports and railways, with 3 of the world’s top 10 container ports and 5 international airports (Hong Kong International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, Macau International Airport and Zhuhai Jinwan Airport).

The region has a diverse economic outlook with massive high-tech industrial development zones in all 11 cities covering emerging industries (IoT, AI, hydrogen, new mobility, clean tech), R&D and high-end sectors.

Another rapidly growing economic area in the GBA is healthcare. The Guangzhou International Bio-Technology Island (formerly known as Dove Island) located in Huangpu district, Guangzhou is a leading global biotech industrial zone in the region.

The development of the Greater Bay Area is accorded the status of key strategic planning in the country’s development blueprint, having great significance in the country’s implementation of innovation-driven development and commitment to reform and opening-up. The objectives are to further deepen cooperation amongst Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, fully leverage the composite advantages of the three places, facilitate in-depth integration within the region, and promote coordinated regional economic development, with a view to developing an international first-class bay area ideal for living, working and traveling.

On 1 July 2017, witnessed by President Xi Jinping, the National Development and Reform Commission and the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao signed the Framework Agreement on Deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Cooperation in the Development of the Greater Bay Area in Hong Kong. The Framework Agreement sets out the goals and principles of cooperation and establishes the key cooperation areas in the development of the Greater Bay Area. Since then, the relevant Central Government departments and the three governments have strived for policy breakthroughs with an innovative and open mind in taking forward the development of the Greater Bay Area jointly.

Our strong team of professionals in legal, account and finance, administration and corporate communications, together with partnering firms in specialized areas, provide quality and impactful services to help you develop, grow and retain profits.