The central government will introduce policies and measures to provide more convenience for Hong Kongers and Macanese living and studying in the mainland, and some of the policies and measures will be tried out in the Greater Bay Area, Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Friday.

Zhang told reporters at the National People's Congress (NPC) session's "Ministers' Corridor" that the development of the Greater Bay Area has been written into the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Report on the Work of the Government 2018, hence, it has come up to the level of national strategy.

"I took part in the panel discussion with Cantonese NPC delegates the day before yesterday. General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping said the development of the Greater Bay Area is an important decision made by the CPC Central Committee. He asked Guangdong Province to grab the great opportunity to develop the Greater Bay Area and work together with Hong Kong and Macao to build it into an international bay area and a world-class city agglomeration," Zhang said.

He added that the next step is to push forward the development of the Greater Bay Area according to the decisions of the central government, which includes adjusting relevant laws and policies and creating innovations for relevant systems and mechanisms to promote transmissions of personnel, cargo, funds and information in the Greater Bay Area.

Talking about the advantages of Hong Kong, Zhang mentioned industries such as finance, education, medical treatment and international connections. 

"We can combine the advantages of Hong Kong with the industrial strength of Guangdong, build a world-class innovation center of science and technology and construct a modern industrial system with international competitiveness," Zhang told reporters.

In addition, the 55km-long Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the world's longest sea bridge, will open this year, according to Zhang.