The city has also cultivated local cultural brands, promoted the integration of culture, commerce and tourism, and improved educational and healthcare services.

That apart, Guangzhou has made great efforts to accelerate science and technology innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, building up more incubation platforms and deepening the reform of the innovation system and talent introduction and jointly promoting the development of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Science and Technology Innovation Corridor with the other three Bay Area cities. This year's Global Innovation Index released in September by the World Intellectual Property Organization listed Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong as a cluster for the first time and ranked the cluster No. 2 worldwide in innovation index.

Ships dock at a port in Guangzhou. CHINA DAILY

The city has also played its role well in the co-promotion of the Bay Area development in terms of infrastructure connectivity, industrial coordination as well as favorable treatments for Hong Kong or Macao citizens who live or work in Guangzhou.

Guangzhou's support to Shenzhen for the latter to become a demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics and its leadership in Guangdong's high-quality regional coordination in the past two years has also gained extensive "likes" in the province and even in China.