Greater Bay Area Joins Hands to Boost Asia-Pacific Openness

To facilitate two-way integration of innovative resources, industrial capital and market channels across Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and help enterprises deeply connect with the Asia-Pacific market, the Guangdong Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce and the Shenzhen Federation of Industry and Commerce jointly held the 2026 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Entrepreneurs Economic and Trade Exchange Conference themed Link International Innovation Resources · Energize Greater Bay Area Growth Momentum on 11 October. Eight Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao cooperation projects were signed at the event.

Luo Laijun, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce; Lu Hongjun, Director of the Social Service Department of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce; Chen Zhiqing, Deputy Director of the United Front Work Department of Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Party Secretary of Guangdong Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce; Kuang Bing, Vice Chairman of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Liu Junlin, Deputy Director of the United Front Work Department of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Party Secretary of Shenzhen Federation of Industry and Commerce; Lu Bin, President of China Construction Bank Shenzhen Branch; together with more than 260 guests from provincial and municipal functional authorities, Hong Kong and Macao industrial and commercial associations, and Greater Bay Area entrepreneur representatives gathered in Pengcheng to discuss Greater Bay Area opportunities and promote open cooperation.

As a core co-organiser of this event, the Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association participated collaboratively in event planning and execution, undertaking key tasks including inviting domestic and overseas guests and cross-regional industrial resource matching. The Association fully leverages its role as a platform hub linking the Chinese mainland with Hong Kong and Macao, and connecting domestic and international markets. It collaborates with major Hong Kong and Macao industrial and commercial organisations and key market entities in the Greater Bay Area to unblock cooperation channels between governments, chambers and enterprises across the three regions. It builds a pragmatic and efficient economic and trade bridge for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao enterprises to seize APEC strategic opportunities and jointly explore the Asia-Pacific market.

2026 marks the kick-off year of the 15th Five-Year Plan and also the APEC “China Year”. Aligned with APEC’s theme of Building an Asia-Pacific Community for Common Prosperity, the event serves as one of the series of services for the 8th “Shenzhen Entrepreneurs Day”. It deepens close coordination and cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, guides entrepreneurs to capture APEC opportunities and conduct targeted investment promotion. The exchange conference featured project signing ceremony, release of demand lists and keynote sharing sessions. It established a high-level economic and trade cooperation platform of “Government + Chamber Associations + Market Entities”, helping private enterprises boost confidence, capitalise on strengths for cluster development and accelerate the cultivation of new-quality productive forces.

In his address, Luo Laijun, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, expressed hopes that private entrepreneurs would forge ahead boldly through innovation, take the lead in developing new-quality productive forces, collaborate closely to consolidate strengths amid Greater Bay Area integration, embrace openness to connect globally and achieve win-win results through deepened international cooperation. Enterprises should make good use of the APEC business dialogue platform, actively engage market resources from APEC’s 21 economies, participate in Asia-Pacific regional economic and trade cooperation, industrial docking and innovation exchanges. They shall accurately target international markets, match cooperative resources and deliver high-quality projects. Relying on the international hub advantages of the Greater Bay Area, industrial strengths of the Bay Area can be transformed into competitive edges in the Asia-Pacific market.

Signed Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Achievements

At the on-site ceremony, 16 enterprises signed 8 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao economic and trade cooperation projects, covering high-quality industrial initiatives such as the construction of overseas warehousing and global transshipment centre for smart terminals in Hong Kong of China, the Greater Bay Area Optimal Procurement Supply-Demand Matching Digital Platform, and the integrated energy smart management platform of Greater Bay Area New Energy Group. A total of 108 demand lists for industrial cooperation, technology docking and market expansion were released, covering key sectors including artificial intelligence, biomedicine, cross-border trade and modern services. The platform enables scenario docking and precise matching of supply and demand for enterprises, supporting coordinated development of industrial and supply chains across Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

Keynote Sharing: Discuss Overseas Market Opportunities

The conference invited experts, scholars and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao business representatives to conduct in-depth discussions on shifts in the Asia-Pacific economic and trade landscape, collaborative industrial innovation and cross-border market development. Hai Wen, Deputy Chair of Peking University Council, former Vice President and Founding Dean of HSBC Business School, delivered a keynote speech titled New International Opportunities for Greater Bay Area Enterprises. By analysing changes in global economic and trade landscape, the unique positioning of the Greater Bay Area and comparative advantages of enterprises going global, he interpreted new international opportunities for Greater Bay Area enterprises.

Zhang Chunhua, Chairman of Shenzhen Federation of Industry and Commerce and Chairman of Lonhua Group, stated that leveraging the geographical and industrial endowments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, each region should capitalise on its unique strengths to “sail in a joint fleet” and explore broader markets.

Hu Jiesen, Executive Dean of Gaia AI Research Institute in Silicon Valley, introduced cases of edge-side AI large models empowering education and highlighted the strong driving force of AI for industrial innovation.

Lin Long’an, President of the Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association, remarked that against the accelerated restructuring of global industrial and supply chains compounded with external uncertainties brought by unilateralism and trade protectionism, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area can fully utilise the complementary advantages of systems, production factors and resources across the three regions and jointly implement the development concept of “sailing together for win-win collaboration”. It is expected that all parties will consolidate the integrated cooperation model of Greater Bay Area R&D and Manufacturing + Hong Kong and Macao Professional Empowerment + Asia-Pacific Market Rollout, and capture incremental opportunities released by APEC in digital economy, technological innovation and green transition. Chambers and associations can proactively serve as non-governmental ties for opening-up, and work with all sectors to improve the long-term three-party coordination mechanism of “Government + Chambers + Enterprises”. They will focus on government-enterprise communication, resource matching and full-chain empowerment for global expansion, accompany enterprises to rationally deploy businesses and operate compliantly, jointly tap the vast Asia-Pacific market, pool non-governmental economic and trade forces and support high-level opening-up of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Ho Jing Lun, President of the Macau Chamber of Commerce and Director of Banco Tai Fung (Shareholding) Limited of Macao, said that integrating into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Macao is not merely a beneficiary but also a contributor. Macao will strive to translate its strengths into tangible outcomes serving the business community in Guangdong.

Wu Xian, President of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Strategic Emerging Industry Development Association and Chairman of Shenzhen WOTE Advanced Materials Co., Ltd., hoped to deepen industrial chain docking, accelerate the flow of innovation factors, promote sharing of market resources and build a community for coordinated development of strategic emerging industries in the Greater Bay Area.

Other entrepreneurs from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao also expressed expectations for APEC hosted in Shenzhen and prospects for deepening cross-region collaborative development. Ye Yujun, Vice Chair of Shenzhen Federation of Industry and Commerce and Director of Shenzhen Salubris Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., hoped to fully leverage APEC opportunities and achieve high-quality industrial development through complementary cooperation among the three regions. Li Jianju, Vice Chair of Shenzhen Federation of Industry and Commerce and President of Shenzhen Keda Industrial Co., Ltd., noted that private enterprises exploring the Asia-Pacific market need support from docking platforms to shore up weaknesses and consolidate competitive strengths.

Pre-Event Visits to Broaden Horizons, Empower Global Expansion

Prior to the conference, Hong Kong and Macao enterprises were organised to visit Pudu Robotics, ZTE and other enterprises on-site to inspect Shenzhen’s industrial ecosystem. A special exhibition of Shenzhen enterprises’ global products was held alongside the conference, showcasing high-quality products and services of Shenzhen enterprises, including cutting-edge innovations such as embodied intelligent robots, drones and AI glasses, demonstrating the innovation vitality of Shenzhen’s private economy.

At the exhibition, a “policy package” for enterprises going global was distributed to attending entrepreneurs. In collaboration with Qianhai Administration Bureau, Foreign Affairs Office of Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, Shenzhen Customs and other authorities, the event systematically interpreted supportive measures including the Overseas Business E-Station, AEO certification cultivation and APEC Business Travel Card, providing comprehensive policy backing for private enterprises to deploy in the Asia-Pacific market. Entrepreneurs commented that the conference built a pragmatic and efficient docking platform, creating favourable conditions for Hong Kong and Macao enterprises to deeply integrate into the Greater Bay Area and connect with Asia-Pacific innovation networks. They looked forward to continuous industrial collaboration, sharing development dividends of the Bay Area and achieving mutual benefits.

The Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association will fully capitalise on the cooperation outcomes generated from this exchange conference. It will continue to engage chambers of commerce, government and business sectors across Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, firmly seize the historic opportunities brought by APEC, and further unblock channels for industrial, trade and capital docking within the Greater Bay Area. We will assist member enterprises to integrate the combined strengths of Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao, jointly and steadily explore the Asia-Pacific market, deliver more pragmatic cooperation projects, support Greater Bay Area enterprises to “go global” in a steady and high-quality manner, and contribute non-governmental industrial and commercial strength to the high-level opening-up of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.