September 5 marks the 4th anniversary of the release of the overall development plan for the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. At present, Hengqin is the base of more than 7,300 Macao-funded enterprises, and over 28,000 Macao residents are living and working in Hengqin. The integrated development between Hengqin and Macao is speeding up, supporting Macao's moderate economic diversification.
Initiatives in detail boost integration
Hengqin and Macao officially launched shared digital tags, enabling cars with only a Macao license plate to drive directly through Hengqin Port into the Cooperation Zone after registration. Since late August, new cross-region facilitation measures have been implemented, such as cross-region patient transfers between designated hospitals and on-board clearance for cross-region school buses.
Hengqin-Macao cross-region school buses adopt a convenient new clearance.
So far, Hengqin has identified a list of 306 measures for Hengqin-Macao integration. It has also issued an industrial development plan, along with measures to ease market access. The "multiple-entry permit" policy for Hengqin residents traveling to Macao came into effect on January 1, 2025.
Hengqin has also successively introduced over 40 internal regulations. Particularly, a closed-loop operation designated the border between Hengqin and Macao SAR as the "first line", and the border between Hengqin and other parts of the Chinese mainland as the "second line". Since its implementation, the flows of people, vehicles, and goods have remained smooth and orderly.
The flow of people, vehicles, and goods across the Zone's "first line" and "second line."
Regional collaborative innovation
As of the end of July this year, Hengqin had nearly 60,000 active market entities, including 7,303 Macao-funded enterprises—up 57.49% since the establishment of the Zone.
The Zhuhai UM Science & Technology Research Institute is located just across a river from the University of Macau, enabling round-trip commutes within 30 minutes. In 2024, the university campus in Hengqin officially broke ground, and the Institute has already established 20 joint laboratories with enterprises.
As of June 2025, a total of 23,749 Macao residents were living in Hengqin, up 30.1% year-on-year, and 5,762 were employed here, up 14.1% year-on-year. Increasingly, young people from Macao are venturing into cities across the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area for employment and entrepreneurship.
The Macau New Neighborhood project is buzzing with daily life.
The Macau New Neighborhood project has become a pilot for exploring deeper integration of livelihoods between Guangdong and Macao. The bonded logistics hub serving Macao International Airport is advancing, and Macao single-license plate vehicles are also expected to travel northbound by a new route via Hengqin.
Gateway for opening-up
In the first half of 2025, Hengqin's total imports and exports value reached 22.481 billion yuan, a surge of 101.5% year-on-year. Exports totaled 13.801 billion yuan, up 104.2%. Imports reached 8.679 billion yuan, up 97.3%.
As one of the priority industries, cross-border e-commerce has grown rapidly in recent years. Cross-border e-commerce industrial parks have been established, attracting industry-leading companies such as Inkeverse and Kuaishou.
Cross-border e-commerce industrial clusters in Hengqin are taking shape.
Hengqin is attracting more international capital, talent, and advanced technologies. Airbus Helicopters' Chinese headquarters, Wanda Commercial Management, CATL, Siemens, and other leading enterprises have all set up operations in Hengqin.
Hengqin and Macao jointly established a trade service center to help promote cooperation between China and Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries in multiple fields. According to the plan, the Zone will establish an Investment Fund to provide enterprises with relevant services.
Reporter | Dai Bosi
Photo | Hengqin Online
Editor | Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
