Advancing GBA integration through targeted institutional innovation
The challenge and opportunity of deeper integration
As the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin (Hengqin Zone), a key pillar of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), marks its fifth anniversary in 2026 and enters the opening year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), its development warrants careful assessment. During the 2026’s sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Macau deputies highlighted persistent legal and institutional barriers to full integration, including differences between Macau’s Portuguese influenced legal system and the mainland’s civil law framework, restrictions on cross-border data flows, divergent business regulations, and challenges in professional qualification recognition.
These hurdles continue to constrain Macau’s “1+4” economic diversification strategy, which seeks to expand beyond tourism and gaming into modern finance, high-tech industries, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and industry of meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions (MICE). They also limit the Zone’s ability to pilot high-standard international trade rules.
Yet, significant progress has been achieved: Hengqin now hosts over 7,300 Macau-funded enterprises, with core industries (including the four emerging sectors) contributing more than 65% to regional GDP, surpassing mid-term targets. Infrastructure advances, such as port expansions and smart customs clearance averaging about 1 minute 40 seconds, have improved connectivity. To overcome remaining obstacles and build on this momentum, the institutional opening-up models pioneered by Shanghai’s Pudong New Area and the Hainan Free Trade Port provide a proven roadmap. Adapting these approaches can dismantle barriers, foster deeper synergy, and enhance the Zone’s demonstration role across the GBA and nationwide, directly supporting China’s high-level opening-up and the innovation-driven goals of the 15th Five-Year Plan.
Lessons from China’s reform pioneers
Pudong and Hainan have demonstrated how targeted legislative flexibility from the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) can drive transformative change in rule alignment, industrial collaboration, and social integration, offering practical lessons for the Hengqin Zone.
- Institutional innovation:Bbridging legal and regulatory gaps
In 2021, the NPCSC empowered Shanghai to temporarily adjust national laws in Pudong for market access, IP protection, and bankruptcy reforms, introducing policies like “one permit for one sector” and registration-based setups that turned Pudong into a global resource hub. Similarly, Hainan’s Free Trade Port Law established zero-tariff regimes and negative lists for services trade, strengthening its role in dual circulation.
For Hengqin-Macau links, comparable NPCSC authorization, potentially delegated to Guangdong or Zhuhai, could enable targeted adjustments under “One Country, Two Systems.” This would address market access, data flows, IP rights, and professional qualifications, aligning with recent NPC and CPPCC sessions proposals. Such flexibility could enable innovative models like “Macau-registered, Hengqin-produced,” accelerating factor mobility and supporting Macau’s diversification.
- Financial and industrial synergy: Building integrated chains
Pudong leads in green finance and RMB internationalization, while Hainan pilots cross-border free trade accounts. Hengqin-Macau can extend these by allowing foreign entities to issue bonds in Macau, expanding RMB cross-border use, and leveraging Macau’s networks with Portuguese speaking countries to fuel chains in TCM, semiconductors, and AI. This forms a powerful synergy: Macau as an international window, Hengqin as a R&D and production base, and the broader GBA as a scaling market.
- Livelihood integration: Enhancing people-centric connectivity
Pudong’s urban management innovations and Hainan’s resident-attracting policies offer models. Practical steps for Hengqin-Macau include cross-border social welfare accounts for seamless healthcare and pension access, advanced facial recognition for border clearance, mutual medical insurance recognition, and expanded high-quality childcare and elderly care in the Macau New Neighbourhood. These measures not only improve daily life but lay the human foundation for sustainable, people-centered integration.
Amplifying impact across the GBA
These reforms would create an innovation nexus, synergizing with platforms like Qianhai, Nansha, and the Lok Ma Chau Loop to form regional industrial clusters. They shift emphasis from physical infrastructure (e.g., high-speed rail) to institutional connectivity, critical as the GBA economy continues robust growth, having approached or exceeded CNY15 trillion in recent years and poised for further milestones. This would sharpen the GBA’s edge in the Belt and Road Initiative, attracting multinational corporations to establish data centres and fintech headquarters.
National significance
Hengqin-Macau’s breakthroughs would provide a replicable model for regions like Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, bolstering dual circulation, RMB internationalization, and high-quality development, contributing to national rejuvenation.
Innovating toward a shared future
The way forward lies not in mere replication but in creative adaptation of Pudong and Hainan models to Hengqin-Macau’s unique context. This can resolve barriers, drive high-quality growth, and generate nationwide demonstration effects. Guided by insights from the 2026 NPC and CPPCC sessions and the opening of the 15th Five-Year Plan, Hengqin and Macau are well-positioned to overcome challenges and write a new chapter in China’s reform and opening-up story.
