Greater Bay Area looks to foster innovation, tech hub

China is committed to developing an international innovation and technology hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which will serve as a leading force for national innovative development, the country's top economic regulator said.

"To develop a vibrant and internationally competitive first-class bay area, the primary task is to build an international innovation and technology hub. And it will take the lead in driving the innovative transformative and innovative development in the Pearl River Delta," said Luo Wen, vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission.

More efforts are needed to build the work mechanism, deepen the reform of innovation systems and mechanisms, implement a number of high-level innovative projects and deepen reform and innovative cooperation in the Greater Bay Area, Luo said at a State Council Information Office news conference on Thursday.

Luo proposed to make a big push to develop the Greater Bay Area in four respects.

The first is to build a team to make plans for the establishment of the international innovation and technology hub.

The second is to support Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao in strengthening the coordination of policies in areas such as intellectual property protection, market regulation, financial technologies, talent cultivation and the commercial application of technological achievements.

The third is to focus on building a number of major technological infrastructure facilities, cross-study platforms, as well as emerging innovative research in the Greater Bay Area.

The fourth is to remove barriers that hinder the free flow of talent, technologies, capital, equipment, information and other innovative elements in the Greater Bay Area.

The Greater Bay Area encompasses Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong province, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Covering more than 56,000 square kilometers, it is an enormous market with a population of 70 million and a gross domestic product of $1.5 trillion.

Lin Shaochun, executive vice-governor of Guangdong province, noted that compared with the San Francisco Bay Area, the Greater Bay Area lags behind in terms of technological innovation.

"Thus it is necessary to develop an international innovation and technology hub in the Greater Bay Area, which will further identify the growth areas and boost the economic development," Lin noted.

According to Lin, Guangdong will push for the establishment and optimization of the cross-border scientific research cooperation system, including the development of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao innovation and technology corridor and strengthen the exchange of resources.

Powered by several world-class universities with strong research capabilities, Hong Kong is able to take advantage of its international business environment to attract innovative resources from home and abroad, bringing in international companies as well as taking domestic firms to go global, Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said at the press conference.