China has issued new guidelines for the legal industry in southern China, allowing small and medium-sized law firms to work with other partners across the Greater Bay Area. The move is aimed at better connecting Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong Province through a stronger legal framework.

South China is home to three separate legal systems, governing Hong Kong, Macao and the mainland. But a new decision issued by Beijing is looking to give lawyers more options for practicing their profession.

The recent decision of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee allows lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions to actually practice in nine cities in Guangdong Province.

"Small and medium-sized law firms in Hong Kong, the lawyers in those firms, want to tap into the Greater Bay Area development, and they want to share business with mainland lawyers," Barrister Lawrence Ma, chairman of Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, told CGTN.

The policy should also allow overseas investors to work with international law firms they're familiar with. Many of these are based in Hong Kong, long seen as a gateway into the mainland. However, Ma said integrating the different firms will face significant challenges.

"It's a very very difficult task because the three legal systems are different. Although Macao's legal system is quite similar to the one in the Chinese mainland, it may be easier for Macao lawyers to adapt to the practice in Chinese mainland. But for Hong Kong lawyers, it's much more difficult because of the language and because of the two very different systems," Ma said.

Zhu Lieyu, who heads a legal practice in the southern city of Guangzhou, said the new policy is more focused on giving other lawyers a chance to develop their expertise.

"They have a lot of advantages. When they come here, they don't mean to steal our businesses, but to give full play to their expertise. For example, when our mainland entrepreneurs want to go abroad, or foreign entrepreneurs want to come in (to Chinese mainland), these businesses can offer their expertise and play a role in facilitating it," Zhu said.

But could the new policy bring about issues of competition between the law firms? And what about the possible impacts on what are supposed to be independent legal systems?

As Ma said, "We should not position ourselves to compete in the mainland with or against mainland lawyers. We are there to compliment them."

"We all want to make a bigger cake. Some are concerned that Hong Kong lawyers will take over our jobs, but I don't think that's an issue. In fact, they could bring about more opportunities for us," Zhu told CGTN.

Both professionals are clearly optimistic about what lies ahead as they call for communication and cooperation over competition.