The director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia Baolong, will arrive in the SAR on 16 June for a 48-hour inspection that includes site visits to the Lok Ma Chau–Shenzhen Innovation Cooperation Zone and briefings on the newly launched Five-Year Plan consultation. Government sources say Chief Executive John Lee will accompany Xia to the Hetao science-park area, where streamlined checkpoint facilities and joint customs arrangements are being piloted to support daily commuting for up to 100,000 researchers by 2030. Xia is also expected to evaluate progress on seamless e-channel roll-outs at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, scheduled to go live on 25 June. While the visit is officially framed as a routine review, it is widely interpreted as Beijing’s push to accelerate ‘hard-infrastructure first, policy second’ integration in the GBA. Real-estate consultancies believe a positive appraisal could unlock faster land resumption for the 30,000-hectare Northern Metropolis, where 550,000 new homes and multiple cross-border railway links are planned. Multinationals eyeing Hetao laboratory spaces or looking to base R&D teams in Shenzhen can expect clearer time-lines on immigration channels, lab-equipment customs procedures and reciprocal tax incentives after Xia’s trip. The Foreign Affairs Office said any new facilitation measures for non-Chinese scientists will be announced jointly by Hong Kong and Guangdong authorities later this summer. Corporate mobility managers should watch for pilot talent-visa quotas tied to specific projects in Hetao, as early movers may gain priority access similar to the ‘Technology Talent Admission Scheme’ introduced during the pandemic.
Source: South China Morning Post
