The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is unique in comparison with other famous bay areas such as San Francisco, New York and Tokyo in that apart from nine mainland cities there are also two very distinct special administrative regions. In a way it is more like the European Union - a conglomeration of different administrations.
That is why many people, especially academics on the mainland, tend to see the Greater Bay Area like the EU model with a free flow of factors of production among its nine cities and two SARs. In particular, money and people can move around freely.
This is the wrong approach, and therefore a non-starter as this is not going to happen at least before 2047 for Hong Kong and 2049 for Macao. Hong Kong and Macao will be SARs with their respective border controls according to their Basic Laws, because this is the essence of "one country, two systems". This is not to be violated come hell or high water, and definitely not to suit the grand plan of the Greater Bay Area development.
Some would suggest expanding the boundaries of the SAR to the outer rim of the Greater Bay Area. But this is not going to happen either. A population of 66 million in the Greater Bay Area is a relatively large country in Europe or anywhere in the world - larger than the population of the whole of South Korea. The high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong and Macao has already proved to be too much of a hassle for the country, and a 66 million people SAR would be intolerable even by world standards.
The keyword to the Greater Bay Area development is integration, whereas for the EU, it is harmonization. In the EU, harmonization is far from being accomplished but in many aspects integration is in full gear. All factors of production can move around different EU countries freely. People can move freely, and even refugees can move freely. That is partly why the United Kingdom has to shut its doors and opted for Brexit.
Integration means making citizens from Hong Kong and Macao working and living on the other side of the boundary more hospitable, and vice versa. They still maintain their somewhat different identities, but will be treated more or less the same on both sides. More importantly, that boundary will still exist until maybe 30 years later.
On the other hand, benefits of the Greater Bay Area development are quite obvious. Even today, adding its population and GDP together, it is already the most populous and the most prosperous bay area in the world. (Source: China Daily)
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