China unveiled a blueprint for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on Feb 18.

According to the blueprint, building the Greater Bay Area is the latest attempt to enhance China’s reform and opening-up policy, as well as a fresh practice way to promote the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.

The blueprint outlines short-term plans for the area until 2022 and long-term outlook for 2035.

The Greater Bay Area encompasses Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong and SAR of Macao, as well as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Foshan, Zhaoqing and Jiangmen, cities in southern China’s Guangdong province.

The Greater Bay Area Initiative, which was first mentioned in China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), plans to combine the three regions in order to turn it into one of the world’s top bay areas and world-class city clusters.

With the ambition to forge a world-class city cluster, the blueprint specifies development strategies and positioning for components of the area.

Four major cities as the engine

The plan takes four major cities－Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and uses them as the core engine for regional development.

Hong Kong will further strengthen and enhance its function as the center of international finance, shipping, trade and aviation, as well as the hub of offshore yuan business, global assets management, and risk management, according to the plan.

The greater bay blueprint plans to promote Hong Kong’s high-end business in multi-fields, including finance, trade, logistics, and service, also to help tech and other new industries increase their competitiveness.

Macao is designed to be a global tourism and leisure resort and a business platform for China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong province, is expected to grow to be a cosmopolitan with strong functions in global commerce and transportation.

Shenzhen, regarded as China’s Silicon Valley, will develop to a city full of innovation with global influence.

More infrastructure for better connection

To better integrate the Greater Bay Area and connect it with surrounding southeast China, a wide range of infrastructure, including transportation and information facilities will be built, according to the blueprint.

The Pearl River Delta will see its ports to be more competitive with Hong Kong to further develop high-end shipping industry.

A world-class airports cluster will be built in the Greater Bay Area, including expansion and upgrading of airports in the four key cities.

Expressways and high-speed railways that go through the pan-Pearl River Delta and connect ASEAN countries are also included in the plan.

The blueprint also said that the hub area and major traffic lines of the greater bay will be covered with free WiFi.