A view of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) special section at the China International Financial Expo in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. This is the first time for the financial event to set aside a special section for the GBA since the Expo started in 2012. A total of 48 financial projects worth 350 billion yuan ($ 51 billion) are expected to be signed during the Expo this year. Photo: IC

Creating a world-class business environment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is crucial for the region's development and will enhance China's economic innovation and competitiveness, an official from China's top economic planner told a press conference on Thursday.

The remarks came after the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Monday released a three-year action plan for building an internationally first-class business environment within the GBA.

These measures will help the GBA play a greater role in the global landscape and become one of the important new engines for China's economic growth, experts said.

According to the plan, in three years' time, the GBA aims to establish a business environment system that aligns with international standards and achieve a world-class level of marketization, rule of law, and internationalization. The level of market connectivity will significantly improve, enabling the region to attract and allocate more global resources.

Some key measures highlighted in the plan include further relaxing or removing access restrictions for investors from Hong Kong and Macao, Guo Lanfeng, an official of the NDRC said on Thursday.

Efforts will be made to promote information sharing and the same standards in administration services in the GBA, strengthen regional cooperation in intellectual rights protection and transform the GBA into a link in facilitating seamless connectivity between domestic and international markets, Guo said.

These measures will help the GBA play a greater role in the global landscape and become one of the important new engines for China's economic growth, Wang Peng, an associate researcher from the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Fewer investment restrictions mean more opportunities, which can not only stimulate market vitality but also promote capital flow and resource allocation in the GBA, enhancing its global resource allocation capabilities, Wang said.

The measures are beneficial for promoting resource sharing and allocation in the GBA, allowing each region to leverage their strengths, enhance market vitality, and competitiveness, Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The plan also emphasizes the establishment of a business environment and institutional system in the GBA that aligns with high standard international trade rules. It also aims to establish and improve mechanisms to attract investments of advanced manufacturing from developed countries, modern services, and strategic emerging industries to the GBA.

Aligning with high standard international rules means that the business environment in the GBA will be more open, transparent, and predictable, which will attract more international companies and investors, Wang said.

Bai said that the GBA, as a benchmark for openness and internationalization in China, will be able to align with high standard international rules at a faster pace. 

"It is well positioned to accumulate experience and pave the way for the implementation of the policies in the rest of the country," Bai added.

The GBA holds a crucial strategic position in China's overall development as one of the most open and economically vibrant regions in the country. In 2022, the total economic output of the GBA has exceeded 13 trillion yuan ($1.82 trillion), accounting for approximately 11 percent of the country's total economic output, according to official data.

An investment promotion event for the GBA held in November in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, witnessed the signing of 859 investment and trade deals totaling about 2.24 trillion yuan, Xinhua News Agency reported.

This record-breaking number reflects the strong confidence of global companies in the GBA solidifying its position as a promising global growth engine, experts said.