General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area should closely focus on its strategic positioning as an international science and technology innovation center, strive to build a global hub for science and technology innovation, and vigorously promote the development of emerging industries. Today, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is gathering surging innovative momentum, continuously forging new development patterns through deep collaboration , and accelerating its progress towards becoming a "world-class" international science and technology innovation center with solid steps.

In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area , the efficiency of collaborative innovation is remarkable. A research achievement from Hong Kong—a robotic dexterity hand capable of gently grasping balloons and eggs—was rapidly industrialized in Shenzhen, crossing the Shenzhen River. This is a microcosm of the efficient integration of the Greater Bay Area's innovation chain: today, on average, a high-value patent reaches a commercialization agreement every two hours and quickly connects with the industrial chain. The cross-border flow of innovation elements continues to accelerate: Hong Kong researchers can reach the Shenzhen Loop Park in 30 minutes point-to-point; experimental equipment can be delivered across borders within 48 hours with "on-demand inspection"; relying on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Corridor, the number of joint research projects between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao has increased significantly by 40%. In 2023, the Greater Bay Area averaged over 400 invention patents granted every day, and the "Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou Innovation Cluster" topped the list of "World's Top 100 Innovation Clusters" for the first time.

Innovation is the core driving force behind the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Since the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the three regions have focused on breaking down barriers and working together to solve development problems through institutional innovation.

"Hard connectivity" is accelerating across the board: the railway network in the Greater Bay Area is becoming increasingly dense, covering major city clusters. The expansion of talent visa policies for travel to and from Hong Kong and Macao has made cross-border travel more convenient for researchers.

The "soft connectivity" initiative continues to deepen: Guangdong has taken the lead in realizing cross-border transfers of provincial-level fiscal research funds to Hong Kong and Macao, totaling over 600 million yuan. The three regions have jointly released 262 "Greater Bay Area Standards," and 187 government services can be handled "cross-border."

Supported by increasingly seamless connectivity, original innovations "from scratch" are constantly emerging in the Greater Bay Area. Major achievements such as the world's first large-scale scientific facility for deep-sea cold seep ecology research, the lunar surface operation robot developed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the "Macau Science-1" satellite are propelling the Greater Bay Area to new heights in science and technology. Currently, it has gathered 2 national laboratories, 45 national key laboratories, and 33 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau joint laboratories, forming a strong foundation for basic scientific research.

Meanwhile, the transformation and industrial application of research results "from 1 to 100" are becoming more efficient. The complete industrial system of the nine mainland cities is deeply integrating with the developed modern service industry, finance, and scientific research resources of Hong Kong and Macao. Recently, Bao'an District of Shenzhen released more than 500 cutting-edge application scenarios, ranging from L4 autonomous driving test roads to low-altitude drone complex flight path test fields, providing an excellent "testing ground" for innovative products.

Laboratories connect to production lines, where emerging industries are gathering momentum and taking off. Currently, the core artificial intelligence industry in the Greater Bay Area has exceeded 220 billion yuan in scale, and nine trillion-yuan-level industrial clusters have laid a solid foundation for high-quality development. This land, which accounts for less than 0.6% of the country's land area, contributes one-ninth of the nation's total economic output, making it one of the most open and economically vibrant regions in China.

Innovation surges, and progress continues. The Central Economic Work Conference reiterated the importance of "building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international science and technology innovation center," injecting new and powerful momentum into the region's development. Looking to the future, the Greater Bay Area is focusing on new sectors such as low-altitude economy and biomanufacturing, planning to create five new emerging industrial clusters worth hundreds of billions of yuan each, and promoting the comprehensive upgrading of its advantageous industries towards high-end and intelligent development, thus writing an even more brilliant chapter in the global innovation landscape.