A 70-strong delegation of Hong Kong-based foreign consular officials, entrepreneurs and professionals on Thursday embarked on a two-day trip to tap new opportunities springing up in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The trip to Zhongshan — a city in the Greater Bay Area and birthplace of Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen — was organized by the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and will feature visits to local businesses and tourist attractions to help delegates learn about the city’s economic vibe.

Addressing a launch ceremony on Thursday morning, Hua You, deputy commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong SAR, said he hopes the trip will help delegates better tap new opportunities of the 11-city cluster.

As this year marks the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), Hua noted that with a renewed national drive for “high-quality development” and “high-standard opening up”, fresh cooperation opportunities will be offered between China and the rest of the world.

Comprising the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao along with nine cities in Guangdong province, the Greater Bay Area’s total gross domestic product surpassed $2 trillion in 2024, outperforming many developed economies.

The Greater Bay Area pulses as one of the country’s most open and economically vibrant regions, Hua said, citing that across its 56,000 square kilometers, the smooth flow of people, goods, capital and information generate one-ninth of China’s total economic output and one-fifth of its total trade.

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Members of the group include Hong Kong-based diplomats from 16 countries, 11 foreign chamber chairs, six local enterprises representatives, as well as officials from the city’s Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Zhongshan, Hua explained to delegates, offers a strategic hub for integrated regional growth, underpinned by a well-connected land, sea, air and rail transportation network. The city hosts nearly 3,000 high-tech enterprises, he citied, which makes it both an “industrial base” and an “innovation springboard”, and, as Sun’s hometown, it carries a distinctive historical and cultural significance.

Addressing fellow delegates, Peter Lund, consul-general of New Zealand in Hong Kong SAR, said such visits can “open doors to local enterprises” and provide chances “to find things we cannot get from reports and online research”, namely “direct insight” into industries and culture that have taken shape across this region.

“As we begin this journey, our expectations are simple and meaningful,” he said. Through engaging with local businesses, exploring technology’s future, exchanging views, “we hope to gain insight that will help us understand and strengthen ties with this prominent city”.

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The two-day trip set off at the Cuiheng New Area Planning Exhibition Center, a key Greater Bay Area exchange platform, prior to visits to enterprises specializing in embodied mobile robots and innovative antibody drugs. Delegates will also tour the Zhongshan Torch Hi-tech zone, including a top-tier new energy equipment manufacturer, on the first day.

Friday’s itinerary will take the delegation to Guzhen town’s Star Alliance Global Brand Lighting Center — also known as China’s lighting capital — the Museum of Dr Sun Yat-sen, built around Sun’s former residence, a key state-protected cultural relic site, and the West Artificial Island of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link.

The island, spanning 137,000 square meters, operates as a multifunctional hub for traffic management, emergency response, and public education.

Since 2023, the commissioner’s office has organized two tours to Greater Bay Area cities for the foreign consulates and business communities in Hong Kong.

According to Hua, many participants later made return trips on their own and asked the office to continue such initiatives.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com