China urges development of 'high-quality' commerce in Greater Bay Area

The Ministry of Commerce will work closely with the governments of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions to enhance arrangements for closer economic and trade relations including the establishment of a pilot free trade zone, Ren Hongbin, China's vice-minister of commerce, said during an online news briefing on Wednesday.

The authorities will further improve liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment to promote the high-quality commerce development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and accelerate free and orderly flows of commodities and production factors, he said.

Vigorous support will also be offered so that Hong Kong and Macao can give full play to their advantages and function in a more important role in building the new dual-circulation development pattern. They can do this through actively participating in domestic circulation and further connecting domestic and foreign markets, according to him. The dual-circulation pattern takes the domestic market as a mainstay while domestic and foreign markets reinforce each other.

Tony Wei, managing director of Swarovski Greater China, said his company has been continuously paying attention to the development prospects and opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The area has more than 70 Swarovski stores and will become one of the key investment destinations for the company in the future, he said.

The company aims to further deepen its business ties after it has operated in the Chinese market for more than 30 years, and to further tap the potentials of the market, he added.