Representatives of a delegation from southern France are looking to deepen industrial and innovation collaboration with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, citing the complementary strengths of the two hubs for technology resources.

On Monday, the delegation from Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (PACA) region in southern France visited Plug and Play China, a leading tech start-up incubator in the Greater Bay Area based in Shenzhen’s Luohu District.

The French delegation highlighted the strong innovation capabilities and abundant technology resources along the Mediterranean coast, noting their high degree of complementarity with the Greater Bay Area’s industrial ecosystem.

The delegates said they look forward to deepening connections with the 11-city cluster through Plug and Play China in business incubation, economic and trade exchanges, and the sharing of innovation resources.

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Positioning itself as a bridge for cross-boundary innovation between China and Europe, Plug and Play China pledged to facilitate tech enterprises in southern France and the Greater Bay Area to explore opportunities in each other’s markets.

It also plans to initiate a series of cooperation projects around tech innovation, finance, marine industries, and the digital economy to deepen China-France trade exchanges and support the high level of opening-up in the Greater Bay Area.

Leading the delegation, Christian Estrosi, former mayor of Nice in France, and president of the PACA region, praised Shenzhen’s development on urban governance and business environment since his last trip to the city in 2016.

He said he was surprised to see that the city welcomes both large-scale enterprises that are stepping forward with innovative capabilities and startups that need incubation and support.

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In addition, Estrosi also expressed his willingness to promote China-EU relations by supporting and incubating startups from both sides.