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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Guangdong has introduced a new "use first, license later" policy tailored for universities and enterprises in the Greater Bay Area. By adopting innovative models such as "use before paying," the policy aims to remove bottlenecks in transforming scientific and technological achievements, lower innovation costs for businesses, and accelerate the industrialization of research projects. Scheduled to take effect in February 2026, it is expected to significantly enhance the efficiency of industry-academia-research collaboration in the region.

The legal departments of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have jointly released a unified, high-standard talent directory, marking the first systematic establishment of a regional legal professionals database. This initiative goes beyond a mere compilation of personnel, serving as a key institutional step toward aligning regulations and creating a "Greater Bay Area standard." It reflects substantive progress in building an international and law-based business environment in the region, providing clear and predictable cross-border dispute resolution safeguards for market entities, including Hong Kong businesses.

The "Hong Kong and Macao Drug and Medical Device Access" policy in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has recently added 27 designated mainland medical institutions, covering cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Zhuhai, and Zhaoqing. This measure brings the total number of designated mainland medical institutions in the Greater Bay Area to 71, further facilitating cross-border access to advanced drugs and medical devices already available in Hong Kong and Macao for residents of the region, and promoting deeper integration in medical services.

The "Funding Scheme for Promoting Industrial Development and Technological Innovation" will accept applications from January 1 to 21, 2026. It provides grants to Macau enterprises and institutions for tech innovation and industrial projects, supporting local industrial upgrading and integration into the Greater Bay Area.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is cultivating new quality productive forces through integrated "land, sea, and air" innovation. By strategically advancing fields such as AI, RISC-V chips, marine technology, and the low-altitude economy, backed by long-term patient capital, it is building a globally influential international science and technology innovation center.