HK, Macao to benefit from Bay Area integration

John Ross, a senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China and former director of Economic and Business Policy of London, said the Greater Bay Area and California in the United States are the two greatest centers of high technology development in the world.

However, even California does not match the growth pace of the Greater Bay Area, Ross said. With a population of 70 million, the Greater Bay Area accounts for 12 percent of China's GDP and the annual economic growth rate is around 7.9 percent.

The Greater Bay Area contains two leading international financial hubs — Hong Kong and Shen-zhen — as well as the important leisure destination of Macao.

Ross said the overall technology level in China, even the Greater Bay Area, has not yet reached the level of the US. However, "China is actually in advance of the US in some areas," he said, citing mobile payments and high-speed trains as two examples.