The alignment of Guangdong’s five-year development plan with Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis will pave the way for high-quality development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, experts said, while pointing out that “soft connectivity” and cross-boundary governance remain prominent hurdles to such integrated advancement.

Guangdong unveiled its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) on Tuesday, marking the first time the province has proposed synchronizing its development with the Northern Metropolis mega project.

The plan states that the province will “proactively connect with the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy and carry out cooperation in areas including park development, industrial introduction, project layout, facility construction, talent attraction, and ecological and environmental protection”.

Guo Wanda, executive vice-president of China Development Institute, a think tank based in Shenzhen, said the inclusion of the Northern Metropolis in Guangdong’s provincial plan underscores that the initiative is far more than a local undertaking for Hong Kong, but represents a nationally-backed key project and a pivotal vehicle for the SAR’s deeper integration into the Greater Bay Area.

Innovative technology, high-end professional services and logistics, and border commerce — as highlighted in the Northern Metropolis’s development blueprint — all require close connection with Shenzhen and are highly synergistic with the development of the Greater Bay Area, he pointed out.

“The proactive policy alignment of Guangdong with the Northern Metropolis will fuel the Greater Bay Area’s drive to evolve into an international innovation and technology hub as well as a global talent magnet,” he said.

ALSO READ: Northern Metropolis key to Hong Kong’s future growth, official says

Zhong Yun, vice dean of the school of economics at Jinan University, said the landmark inclusion signifies another step forward in the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area and elevates the Northern Metropolis from Hong Kong’s local development strategy to the “national strategy” of Greater Bay Area construction.

The Northern Metropolis project, which was first proposed in 2021, aims to turn 300 square kilometers in the New Territories into an I&T and economic hub that can accommodate 2.5 million population and provide 650,000 jobs, including 150,000 I&T positions, in the coming 20 years.

To fast-track its development, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government submitted proposals to the Legislative Council in March. A two-month public consultation is underway and will close on May 22.

Guo observed that the biggest impediment in the coordinated development of Northern Metropolis between Guangdong and Hong Kong lies in the “soft connectivity” caused by the differences in legal systems and standards between the two places.

Under the “one country, two systems” framework, Hong Kong adopts common law while the Chinese mainland practices continental law. Divergences in regulatory regimes and technical standards have long posed bottlenecks to cross-boundary cooperation and connectivity.

To break through the barriers, he suggests prioritizing collaborative development in mutually pivotal sectors including artificial intelligence, low-altitude economy and biotechnology. Cross-boundary flow of goods, people and capital should be promoted first on a “point-to-point” basis, such as in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, and then expanded to wider areas, he adds.

READ MORE: Northern Metropolis at core of HK’s first five-year plan

Zhong argued that another core challenge lies in how to make the benefits of the production factors and resources that Guangdong can manage through its governance actually work in Hong Kong.

She noted that unlike major cooperation platforms such as the Shenzhen Park of Hetao, which is sited on the mainland, the Northern Metropolis is geographically located in Hong Kong. There is no clear and definite path to follow for coordinating development in such a special cross-boundary zone, she notes.

“Establishing and refining a mechanism for cross-boundary collaborative governance and benefit sharing is imperative to breaking the existing development bottlenecks,” Zhong emphasized.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com