On July 1, 2017, the Greater Bay Area Initiative was signed to promote the economic integration of Hong Kong and Macao with nine cities in Guangdong Province. The goal is a strategically unified southern China that enables the accelerated flow of people, capital, goods and services, and deepens the "One Country, Two Systems" format that joins Hong Kong and Macao with the mainland. Ties between the mainland and Hong Kong have never been as close as they are today.