The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said its director, Xia Baolong, had visited Guangzhou, Zhaoqing and Foshan on the trip from Monday to Friday, accompanied by officials from the mainland and Hong Kong.

“[The trip] focused on how to deepen the integration of Hong Kong and Macau into the national development strategy, including the 15th five-year plan,” it said.

“[Xia also] conducted research on how [the cities] could deeply participate in the construction of the [bay area] and better serve the overall national development strategy.”

The bay area is Beijing’s initiative to turn Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in neighbouring Guangdong province into an integrated economic and business hub.

Guangdong’s capital, Guangzhou, is a core region for advanced manufacturing industries, while Foshan has positioned itself as a hi-tech industrial development hub, with the construction of a new airport starting earlier this week.