The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, a mega cross-sea bridge in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. [Photo/IC]

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is rapidly emerging as a world-class economic hub, with South China's Guangdong province serving as its core driving force.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the area's annual economic aggregate exceeded 14 trillion yuan ($1.96 trillion), marking significant progress toward becoming a leading global bay area and city cluster.

Covering nine cities in Guangdong along with Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, this 56,000-square-kilometer area is home to more than 86 million people. It is recognized as one of China's most open and economically dynamic regions.

Major transportation milestones include the completion of seven cross-river and cross-sea channels by the end of 2024, allowing for one-hour travel between key cities. Essential infrastructure like Shenzhen and Guangzhou ports, as well as major airports situated in Guangdong, constitute the region's logistical backbone.

Guangdong has actively promoted regional integration through its "Bay Area Connectivity" initiative. Breakthrough policies like "Northbound Travel for Hong Kong and Macao Vehicles" and streamlined talent visas have facilitated greater mobility.

Currently, over 5,500 professionals from Hong Kong and Macao practice in Guangdong, with 187 government services available cross-boundary.

This improved connectivity has sped up scientific and technological collaboration. The "Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou" innovation cluster has been ranked as the world's top innovation hub in the 2025 Global Innovation Index, released by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The area now surpasses all major global bay areas in patent capability. It produces one-third of China's industrial robots, and the nine Guangdong cities of the area have built nine clusters in fields such as electronics, automobiles, and new energy, each of which realizes annual production value surpassing 1 trillion yuan.

The region's economic importance is further highlighted, with the worth of foreign trade of the nine Guangdong cities reaching 6.49 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of 2025, representing 20.2 percent of China's total.

As development continues, Guangdong remains its efforts to transforming the Greater Bay Area into an internationally influential economic powerhouse.