The scenery of the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong Photo: Xinhua/Li Gang

The Chinese central government will support the efforts of South China's Guangdong Province in learning and applying the trade rules of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) to its free trade zones. 

It also supports the two SARs to take part in the consumption upgrade and market system building of other cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The comment was made by officials of Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) at a press conference on Monday in Beijing. It shows the firm support of the central government in deepening cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong to help the latter cushion against the downward economic pressure caused by months of unrest, observers said.

Ren Hongbin, AN assistant minister of commerce, said that MOFCOM has set up a special economic and trade group for GBA construction to study how to facilitate the free flow of investment and trade among Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao. 

Preferential measures that expand the opening-up of the mainland market under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) will also be put into trial practice in the GBA, according to Ren. 

The CEPA is the first trade agreement between the mainland and the Hong Kong SAR, covering four areas, trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and economic and technical cooperation.

Liang Haiming, a Hong Kong-based economist, said that the central government's efforts could be a boost for both Guangdong Province and the two SARs.

"Promoting trade and personnel exchanges in the GBA can encourage more Hong Kong and Macao residents to work and live in Guangdong," Liang told the Global Times on Monday.

The ongoing social unrest has taken a toll on Hong Kong's economy, hurting its retail and tourism industries.