The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region unveiled its first five-year plan alongside the 2026 Policy Address on Sept 16. This is the first time the HKSAR government has formulated a comprehensive five-year road map for the city. Beyond establishing continuity in policy across administrative terms, this historic blueprint signals a fundamental evolution in governance philosophy, transitioning from a passive “small government” model to an “action-oriented government”. Crucially, with a strategy to foster “soft connectivity” by deepening the alignment of rules and mechanisms, the plan provides a clear and actionable road map for Hong Kong’s systemic integration into national development.
As hard infrastructure — such as cross-boundary bridges, high-speed rail lines and modernized ports — reaches physical maturity, the primary bottlenecks restricting the seamless flow of economic factors are no longer physical distances. Rather, they stem from institutional, regulatory, and procedural differences inherent in the “one country, two systems” framework featuring three customs zones and three legal jurisdictions. Overcoming these barriers requires a structural shift in how cross-boundary synergies are conceived and executed.
A comprehensive examination of the four batches comprising 70 typical cases of the alignment of rules and mechanisms previously released by Guangdong province reveals a profound evolutionary trajectory across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Early efforts relied heavily on localized policy trials and unilateral Chinese mainland concessions toward Hong Kong, such as Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles or the unilateral filing for Hong Kong legal and medical practitioners. Gradually, these measures have matured into deep, bilateral procedural adaptations and joint rule creation. In fact, a close analysis of these 70 cases shows that nearly 80 percent now feature bilateral mutual adaptation or joint creation of unified Greater Bay Area standards.
Historical experience demonstrates that relying on ad hoc, case-by-case negotiations or microlevel policy concessions, while effective at lowering initial cooperation thresholds, ultimately encounters diminishing marginal returns when applied to major regional infrastructure or deep industrial collaboration. Fragmented policy concessions often culminate in the frustrating paradox of “market access granted, but operational entry blocked”. By embedding rule alignment directly into the HKSAR’s overarching developmental strategy, the five-year plan elevates localized, scattershot experiments into a holistic, top-level system. This marks the transition of Greater Bay Area integration from disjointed exploration into a new era of systemic institutional openness.
To translate the blueprint of “soft connectivity” into tangible institutional progress, the plan establishes a comprehensive deployment framework that systematically orchestrates rule alignment and mechanism matching across four key operational dimensions, effectively bridging regulatory gaps while enhancing the seamless flow of people, goods, capital, and data throughout the Greater Bay Area.
The first dimension is to promote mutual recognition of professional qualifications and standard co-creation. The plan commits to developing common standards on a pilot basis for the competence levels of skilled workers and technicians in the Greater Bay Area construction industry, while introducing Hong Kong’s engineering standards and project management models to mainland partner cities. Simultaneously, wider application of the mainland’s advanced construction technologies and new materials will be promoted in Hong Kong, leveraging the city as an international platform to showcase the competitive edge of Chinese standards. Expanding Greater Bay Area standards and certification across broader product and service categories will enable Hong Kong enterprises to seamlessly tap into mainland markets while supplying standardized technical backing for major infrastructure in the Northern Metropolis.
The second dimension is to promote professional synergy in legal and medical sectors. The plan urges more Hong Kong legal professionals to sit for the Greater Bay Area Legal Professional Examination and practice across the region, while promoting model arbitration rules and Greater Bay Area mediation standards. In healthcare, collaboration will deepen through the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Medical Specialist Training Centre, establishing a new paradigm for specialist training and regulatory alignment. Furthermore, expanding cross-boundary medical record sharing via eHealth directly addresses pressing public livelihood needs, turning professional “soft connectivity” into tangible social integration.
The third dimension is to promote innovation in boundary clearance and logistics efficiency. The plan proposes revolutionary customs arrangements at redeveloped boundary control points like Huanggang and Sha Tau Kok. Implementing “collaborative inspection and joint clearance” (i.e., collaborative inspection and single release) alongside “joint one-stop” vehicle inspection modes will dramatically streamline passenger and freight movement. Connecting the single windows of both sides and extending the “single submission for dual declaration” program will reduce redundant data entry, permanently upgrading cross-boundary logistics from point-based innovations into standardized efficiency gains.
The fourth dimension is to promote financial policy innovation and cross-boundary data governance. The plan calls for expanding mutual market access, including enhancing the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect, Bond Connect and Stock Connect, while improving livelihood financial services such as cross-boundary credit referencing and data validation, account opening by attestation, payment connect, and property payment facilitation. Establishing robust cross-boundary data management mechanisms will facilitate secure data sharing across fintech, e-commerce, and electronic health records, establishing a national benchmark for cross-boundary data governance.
A crucial dimension highlighted in the five-year plan is the spatial realignment of Hong Kong’s economy. The Northern Metropolis is designated as a major growth engine, giving rise to a clear regional division of labor: “innovation and technology in the north, finance in the south”. Hong Kong boasts five of the world’s top 100 universities — a higher concentration than any other global city. However, world-class basic research requires seamless integration with the Greater Bay Area’s robust pilot testing, industrial mass production, and massive domestic market to achieve full economic translation.
To accelerate this transformation, regulatory alignment must be matched by agile policy execution. Crucial policy adjustments should be pursued, including further refining labor importation policies to relieve construction bottlenecks, simplifying environmental impact assessments and project approval processes, and adopting mainland engineering standards where appropriate in the Northern Metropolis. Accelerating development timelines will ensure that Hong Kong’s scientific breakthroughs scale rapidly across Greater Bay Area supply chains.
Over the next five years, guided by its five-year plan and anchored by mega-projects like the Northern Metropolis, the HKSAR government is well-positioned to convert the blueprint of “soft connectivity” into continuous institutional dividends. Deepening the alignment of rules and mechanisms will not only elevate Greater Bay Area market integration to unprecedented heights but also inject enduring momentum into Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability.
The author is an expert member of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
