Aerial photo taken on July 11, 2018 shows the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in south China. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

New Zealand parliament member Jian Yang encouraged New Zealand entrepreneurs to seek new opportunities in China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and said the area will become a global innovation and technology hub.

AUCKLAND, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand entrepreneurs were encouraged here on Friday at the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) promotion conference to devote to international economic and trade cooperation with the Greater Bay Area.

The bay area consists of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China's Macao Special Administrative Region, as well as nine cities in south China's Guangdong Province -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing.

Guangdong is now working hard to build a world-class urban agglomeration and a world-class bay area with Hong Kong and Macao and to uplift the overall opening up platform, China's Vice Consul-General in Auckland Xiao Yewen said, noting that the Greater Bay Area plan will promote the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao.

"The concept has a great economic potential in terms of trade, in terms of people to people visit and in terms of scientific changes. This area will become a global innovation and technology hub," said Jian Yang, a member of New Zealand parliament.

Yang encouraged the entrepreneurs to seek new opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, saying, "there is a great opportunity for us to join this."

Wang Jiazheng, president of Canton Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand which hosted the conference, said, "The traditional manufacturing industry has a solid foundation in Greater Bay Area, and it has gathered many mainland science and technology enterprises. The R&D and innovation capabilities have been continuously improved, and high-tech industrial clusters have been fully formed."

The member companies of Canton Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand are expected to participate in the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) scheduled in November, according to Wang.

After the conference which was attended by over 200 entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurs visited a photo exhibition featuring Guangdong development achievements. ■