A high-profile foreign delegation exploring development within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area spent Friday in Zhuhai, focusing on the city’s industrial and cultural progress bolstered by regional synergy.
More than 70 consular officials and business-chamber heads based in Hong Kong set off on Tuesday on a four-day tour of the Greater Bay Area, exploring the 11-city cluster’s opportunities, with Zhuhai being the last leg of their tour after Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
The final day of their tour began with visits to the historic Huitong Village and the Kingsoft Software Park, both of which are located in the town of Tangjiawan.
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Later in the morning, the delegates traveled to the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, adjacent to Macao, to learn about the zone’s strategic development plans.
Summarizing the trip over the past three days, Henry Au, treasurer of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, told China Daily that his particular interest is in the biomedical innovators emerging from Shenzhen and Guangzhou, adding that there is strong potential demand for their products and services across Europe.
He singled out Shenzhen-based XtalPi — a company leveraging artificial intelligence and robotics to advance life science research — as a prime example.
There is a concentration of pharmaceutical research firms in Europe, Au said, adding that integrating AI-driven tools with their research, like those developed by XtalPi, could significantly enhance their efficiency.
Au also highlighted the Greater Bay Area’s rapid evolution from an information technology hub to a powerhouse for cutting-edge innovation in areas such as space technology, advanced batteries, fast-charging solutions, and health sciences.
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“The most striking change in the Greater Bay Area is the sheer breadth of innovation we’re now seeing,” he said.
Shah Mohammad Tanvir Monsur, consul general of Bangladesh in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, praised the Greater Bay Area’s advanced medical science facilities, and called for more collaboration with other countries to stimulate further progress in the region.
The tour was organized by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR. On the days prior to their arrival in Zhuhai, the delegation visited various key development platforms including Qianhai in Shenzhen and Nansha in Guangzhou.
Contact the writers at stephyzhang@chinadailyhk.com
