Hong Kong-based foreign consular officials, entrepreneurs and professionals, during their two-day trip to Zhongshan, Guangdong province, said on Thursday that they were impressed by the city’s high-tech development and identified potential for collaboration across many sectors.

The delegation, comprising 72 members that include consuls general, foreign chamber chairs, enterprise representatives, and government officials, was organized by the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Zhongshan is a city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the birthplace of Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925). The trip aimed to help foreign communities explore more opportunities in the region.

Addressing the launch ceremony, Hua You, deputy commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong SAR, highlighted new cooperation opportunities during the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, and under its renewed national drive for “high-quality development” and “high-standard opening-up”.

He said the Greater Bay Area is one of the country’s most open and economically vibrant regions, contributing one-ninth of China’s total economic output and one-fifth of its total trade, with a seamless flow of people, goods, capital and information.

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

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Located on the west bank of the Pearl River estuary, Zhongshan offers a strategic hub for regional growth, supported by a well-connected land, sea, air and rail transportation network, Hua said. He added that the city hosts nearly 3,000 high-tech enterprises, making it both an “industrial base” and an “innovation springboard”. It also holds a distinctive historical and cultural significance, he said.

Among the delegates, Peter Lund, New Zealand’s consul general in Hong Kong, said such visits can “open doors to local enterprises” and provide opportunities “to find things we cannot get from reports and online research”.

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

The delegation visited the Cuiheng New District Planning Exhibition Center, a key Greater Bay Area exchange platform in Zhongshan, followed by visits to XSTO, a provider of embodied mobile robot technologies, and Akeso, a pioneer in the country’s innovative antibody-drug research and development.

Darya Bohdan, Belarus’ acting consul general in Hong Kong, told China Daily she was “excited to see what’s been developing in Zhongshan”.

“I didn’t know Zhongshan well before. I knew it was part of the Greater Bay Area and a major city in manufacturing, but I didn’t expect it to have such high-tech products with so many different variations, for cargo and people. I’m quite impressed,” she said, referring to XSTO’s demonstration of its embodied wheelchair robot and motion-sensing logistics cart.

Bohdan added that Belarus already maintains a “good partnership” with China through the Belt and Road Initiative, citing the Great Stone Industrial Park — a special economic zone in Belarus established under a China-Belarus agreement.

“I hope we have more technologies coming,” she said.

The delegation also visited Ming Yang Smart Energy Group, a leading manufacturer of new energy equipment, located within the Zhongshan Torch High-tech Industrial Development Zone.

Benjamin Sigg, co-president, national representative and a board member of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said he “sees a lot of future collaboration.”

China has “become the No 1 country in terms of the renewable sector and technologies overall,” Sigg said, adding that Ming Yang initially relied on Swiss technologies, but now produces much of its equipment domestically in China, based on his conversations with the company’s chief engineer.

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

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

This is the third such tour organized by the Commissioner’s Office since 2023 for foreign consulates and business communities in Hong Kong to explore the broader Greater Bay Area. Previous visits included Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, and Zhuhai. 

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com