In 2025, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area claimed the top spot among the world's 100 leading innovation clusters in the 2025 Global Innovation Index, released this year on September 1 by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Collaboration across borders is at the heart of this success. Researchers in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) now commute to Shenzhen's Hetao Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone in just 30 minutes, and experimental equipment sent across borders can be inspected within 48 hours. Since the launch of the innovation corridor, joint research projects involving Guangdong, the HKSAR and the Macao Special Administrative Region have surged by 40 percent.
Breakthroughs are emerging at every turn. On the Chinese mainland, the world's first deep-sea cold spring ecological research facility is under construction in Guangdong, and the Jiangmen neutrino experiment has released its first physical results. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is leading the development of a multi-functional lunar surface robot and mobile charging station. Over in Macao, the "Macao Science No. 1" satellite has orbited the Earth more than 10,000 times, generating a wealth of high-precision scientific data.
The region's strength lies in the integration of the nine Chinese mainland cities' complete industrial system with the advanced modern service industries, finance and scientific research resources of the HKSAR and the Macao Special Administrative Region. Emerging sectors are growing rapidly: the core artificial intelligence industry now exceeds 220 billion yuan (about $31 billion), and nine trillion-level industrial clusters are solidifying the foundation for high-quality development.
Despite covering less than 0.6 percent of the Chinese mainland's total land area, the Greater Bay Area contributes one-ninth of China's total economic output, making it one of the most open and economically dynamic regions in China.
At the recently concluded Central Economic Work Conference, Beijing reiterated the goal of building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international center for technological innovation, injecting fresh policy support into the region's tech development.
Looking ahead, the Greater Bay Area is zeroing in on cutting-edge fields such as the low-altitude economy and bio-manufacturing. Plans are in place to establish five more trillion-level industrial clusters, driving electronics and advanced equipment manufacturing towards higher-end, intelligent development and cementing the area's status as a global innovation hub.
Reference(s):
China's Greater Bay Area eyes global hub for tech innovation
cgtn.com
