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"Bay Area Certification" is a quality initiative by Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, enabling products/services to be certified once and recognized across all three regions. By the end of 2025, 308 certificates had been issued, boosting quality, industrial upgrading, and consumer confidence in the Greater Bay Area.

The "Longgang District Sci-Tech Innovation Fund Implementation Rules" aim to drive innovation through five key initiatives, funding R&D, IP, biotech, and innovation platforms to boost sustainable development. Effective from Jan 23, 2026, for three years.

According to reports, the Greater Bay Area leads China in multiple digital economy indicators. It aims to establish three trillion-level digital industry clusters and become a globally leading digital bay area by 2030.

Hong Kong is actively promoting the modernization and internationalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), leveraging the "one country, two systems" principle and its global platform advantages. With the launch of the first TCM Development Blueprint and the inauguration of the Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Hospital, efforts focus on research translation, clinical practice, and international standard-setting to help businesses expand overseas and establish Hong Kong as a gateway for TCM to the world.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Jiangmen advanced Greater Bay Area integration by enabling cross-border credit recognition, government service accessibility, and participation in "Bay Area Standards" and certification. Initiatives like the International Arbitration Center aim to align with Hong Kong and Macao’s business environment, facilitating innovation cooperation and resource flow.

On January 5, the Guangzhou Port Authority announced that in 2025, the port's cargo throughput exceeded 696 million tons, and container throughput surpassed 28 million TEUs, consistently ranking among the top six globally. Foreign trade container volume grew by nearly 20%, accounting for over 50% of the total for the first time, marking its transition from the largest domestic trade port to a "dual‑circulation hub." Ten new foreign trade routes were added, sea‑rail intermodal volume exceeded 700,000 TEUs, and the world's first fully automated river‑sea‑rail multimodal terminal was completed, supporting the development of the Greater Bay Area port cluster.

The first western cross-river pedestrian bridge connecting the Hong Kong and Shenzhen areas of the Hetao Innovation and Technology Park will be constructed, featuring a whitelist system for personnel to pass via facial recognition. The park will also enact exclusive laws to prevent sample leakage and has allocated funds for a sample storage freezer.

China's first national-level technical and trade measures research and evaluation base for the pop toy industry has been established in Dongguan, Guangdong, marking a new phase in addressing international technical barriers. Jointly built by entities including the General Administration of Customs and Huangpu Customs, the base features a "Customs-Government-Enterprise" mechanism, providing services such as information collection and risk warning. Dongguan is home to over 8,000 toy companies, exporting toys worth RMB 21.49 billion from January to November 2025. A dedicated pop toy technical and trade service station was set up in August 2025, and China's first pop toy industry association standard has been released.

According to the Greater Bay Area Standardization Research Center, five new "Greater Bay Area Standards" have been officially added to the common implementation list. Covering modern services and key industrial technologies—such as the General Specification for Engineering Competency Assessment and the Parking Service Specification—these standards aim to enhance operational consistency and integration across the region.

On December 16–17, HKTDC GoGBA and the HKSAR's Greater Bay Area Office jointly organized the GoGBA Shenzhen-Zhuhai study tour. The event helped Hong Kong businesses understand cutting‑edge technology, explore collaboration opportunities, and enhance competitiveness through direct exchanges with mainland officials and industry leaders.

The 2024 Guangdong R&D expenditure reached 509.961 billion yuan, up 6.2%, ranking first in China for the ninth consecutive year. R&D intensity hit 3.60%, exceeding national and OECD averages. Shenzhen led major cities with 6.67% intensity.

In 2025, the Hong Kong stock market ushered in a "structural bull market," with the Hang Seng Index rising 27.77% for the year, marking its best annual performance since 2017. The Hong Kong Exchange introduced innovative measures such as the "Tech Company Special Channel," facilitating the listing of 68 companies via this channel in just six months. Over 110 companies listed in Hong Kong throughout the year, raising more than HKD 280 billion, reclaiming the top spot globally in IPO fundraising.

The national-level Trendy Toys Technical Trade Measures Evaluation Base has been established in Dongguan, Guangdong. It introduces a "customs-government-business" collaborative mechanism to help companies in the Greater Bay Area tackle international technical trade barriers, enhance compliance capabilities, and strengthen their influence in setting industry standards. This provides critical support for Hong Kong-invested trendy toy enterprises leveraging Dongguan’s supply chain to expand globally.

Guangdong has introduced 18 high-level measures to advance digital and service trade in the Greater Bay Area. The policy supports data cross-border flows in platforms like Hengqin and Qianhai, promotes service exports in sectors such as culture and traditional Chinese medicine, and assists Hong Kong businesses in expanding into mainland markets like elderly care and healthcare while facilitating their global outreach.

Hong Kong recently launched the "Corporate Digital Identity" sandbox program, providing a testing platform for service providers to accelerate the digital transformation of local enterprises. This initiative will enhance the business environment in the Greater Bay Area, facilitate e-commerce activities between enterprises, government bodies, and public-private institutions, and enable secure and efficient authentication and signing processes, thereby supporting the overall digital advancement of the region.