The Greater Bay Area’s (GBA) position as an economic powerhouse in China is being highlighted at the current Two Sessions – annual meetings in Beijing of the nation’s top lawmaking body, the National People’s Congress, and the top political advisory organ, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The draft outline of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for 2026 to 2030, points to the need to consolidate and enhance the momentum of the GBA, along with other major economic regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze Delta.
According to news outlet South, this marks the third consecutive time since 2016 the GBA has been included in the nation’s Five-Y Plan, which lays out China’s economic path moving forward.
Mention of the GBA was also made in the central government’s work report, which was delivered by Chinese Premier Li Qiang yesterday. The GBA’s inclusion in the current work report represents the tenth straight year the region has been featured since 2017.
Li noted that the government would continue to support development of the GBA and is hoping to turn the region into a global hub for technological innovation and a world-class city cluster.
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In the decade since the 2017 report’s publication, the GBA has experienced tremendous economic growth, with its gross domestic product (GDP) jumping from 9.35 trillion yuan (US$1.38 trillion) in 2016 to an estimated total of more than 15 trillion yuan (US$2.15 trillion) in 2025, an increase of around 60 percent.
Meanwhile, the GBA accounted for a ninth of China’s economic output in 2024, despite only covering 0.6 percent of China’s territory.
The GBA’s breakneck development was not lost on officials at the Two Sessions, with CPPCC spokesman Liu Jieyi, describing the region’s integration and development in 2025 as “remarkable and worthy of praise.”
At a press conference on Tuesday, Liu singled out some of the measures that spurred further integration, including the 15th National Games that were jointly held in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.
He also pointed to the introduction of the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme that permits Guangdong vehicles to venture into Hong Kong by way of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, as well as other initiatives that make it easier for SAR residents to retire and gain access to medical services in the mainland.
During the opening of the CPPCC’s annual meeting on Wednesday, the committee chairman Wang Hu Ning spoke about the GBA as well, pointing to the need to further strengthen integration of the rules and mechanisms within the region and better support Hong Kong and Macao’s integration into national development.
The GBA is one of China’s most productive economic urban clusters, and is made up of 11 cities, including 9 mainland ones and the two SARs of Macao and Hong Kong.
