Guangdong province held a matchmaking event with central State-owned enterprises in Beijing on Wednesday to deepen high-level cooperation and jointly build the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The three-day event, consisting of one themed matchmaking session and several local industrial matchmaking activities, aimed to promote the continuous strategic presence and development of central SOEs in Guangdong to better serve the implementation of national strategies.

Since the beginning of this year, Guangdong and central SOEs have agreed on 91 key cooperation projects involving an investment of 181.32 billion yuan ($27 billion). During this event, 18 representative projects were selected for on-site signing, with a total value of 55.62 billion yuan.

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Huang Kunming, Party secretary of Guangdong, expressed gratitude to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council and central SOEs for their long-term guidance and support. He emphasized the need to support central SOEs in taking root in Guangdong, deeply participating in the Greater Bay Area's construction.

Noting that the Greater Bay Area is gaining momentum, Huang expressed his hope to share its strategic dividends with central SOEs. "We hope central SOEs will grow together with the Greater Bay Area, creating a batch of landmark projects in infrastructure, cross-border finance, scientific research and industrial cultivation," Huang said.

Highlighting the work during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, Huang stated that Guangdong will focus on the real economy and manufacturing. "We look forward to deepening coordination with central SOEs in strategic scientific and technological forces and jointly tackling key core technologies," he said, aiming to introduce more cutting-edge technologies and high-quality industrial projects to the province.

Furthermore, Huang invited central SOEs to jointly expand domestic and international markets, lead local enterprises in exploring diverse global markets and participate in coordinated regional development by focusing on county-level and marine economies. He pledged that Guangdong will provide an optimal environment and premium services for central SOEs.

Cheng Fubo, chairman of SASAC, noted that central SOEs have actively participated in the Greater Bay Area's construction, resulting in an increasing number of cooperation projects and expanding collaborative space in major infrastructure connectivity and strategic emerging industries.

He urged central SOEs to focus on their core businesses, cultivate strategic emerging and future industries in line with Guangdong's realities, and strengthen sci-tech innovation capabilities.

During the event, top executives from several central SOEs shared their future cooperation plans in Guangdong.

Qian Zhaoyang, chairman of China Southern Power Grid, unveiled a massive 500-billion-yuan investment plan for Guangdong during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

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Qian also highlighted plans to jointly roll out national super application scenarios for new energy storage, a move expected to foster a trillion-yuan industrial cluster.

Echoing this strong commitment, Zhang Chuanjiang, chairman of China National Offshore Oil Corp, projected an investment of over 180 billion yuan in the province over the next five years.

To build a world-class petrochemical base and advance comprehensive energy demonstration projects, Zhang emphasized: "We will continuously increase oil and gas production in the South China Sea and accelerate the development of high-end marine engineering equipment manufacturing."

Contact the writers at renqi@chinadaily.com.cn