Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Thursday afternoon praised the recent work of the governments of the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions (SAR) and called for more efforts to build the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

Han, also head of the leading group for developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, made the remarks when meeting with HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

The vice premier stressed that improving Hong Kong's electoral system and the amendments to Annex I and Annex II to the Basic Law provide a solid legal guarantee for implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" and ensuring enduring peace and stability in Hong Kong.  

The HKSAR should waste no time when working on its local legislation and urged efforts to organize the upcoming elections well, he added.

He also called on the Macao SAR government to make good preparations for the seventh Legislative Assembly of the Macao SAR election.

The two SARs should continue to take epidemic prevention and control as the top priority in promoting economic recovery and improving people's livelihood, adding that the central government will as always give full support, he said.

Han also stressed the importance of developing the GBA while chairing a meeting of the leading group on Thursday, saying that it is a major initiative to enrich the practice of "One Country, Two Systems."

He described building the GBA a strong measure to advance reform and opening-up and to help Hong Kong and Macao better integrate into China's overall development. 

To boost development in the GBA, the vice premier stressed accelerating the development of the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin, Zhuhai City and said that a modern service industry cooperation zone in Qianhai, Shenzhen City, should make better use of the supporting policies to boost in-depth cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.