“AI+” development will soon have the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (“the Bay Area”) standards to follow. On September 8, the inauguration ceremony of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Artificial Intelligence Standardization Working Group (“the Working Group”) was held in Guangzhou. The Working Group aims to drive the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation across the region through standardization, with a particular focus on establishing a hub for AI standard-setting that is globally connected and facilitates collaboration among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.
Why the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area?
From technology to application, the Bay Area offers a complete chain.
Amid the rapid transformation driven by artificial intelligence, the need for unified, advanced, and implementable standards has become increasingly urgent. These standards will be key to driving technological innovation, fostering industrial collaboration, and strengthening global influence.
Since the beginning of this year, tech enterprises worldwide have accelerated their deployment in AI, pushing the industry into a phase of explosive growth.
According to the latest 2025 report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the global AI market is projected to surge from USD 189 billion in 2023 to USD 4.8 trillion by 2033, a 25-fold increase in just a decade. Meanwhile, forecasts by CCID Consulting indicate suggest that China’s AI industry will grow from RMB 398.5 billion in 2025 to RMB 1.73 trillion in 2035, with a compound annual growth rate of 15.6%.
Along with the booming industry, the global demand for standardized AI governance and cross-border coordination has never been stronger.
Currently, countries are adopting varied approaches to standardization strategies. The United States continues to strengthen its light-regulation, development-focused strategy, prioritizing standards for safety and governance. The European Union is pivoting toward loosening regulatory constraints to enhance its technological competitiveness and attract investment in AI. China, on the other hand, is pursuing a dual approach, balancing security and growth while actively seeking a greater voice in international standard-setting.
The recently issued Opinions of the State Council on Deepening the Implementation of the ‘AI+’ Initiative calls for accelerated development of AI standards in key sectors and stronger coordination of cross-industry, cross-domain, and international standardization efforts.
According to Dong Jian, Secretary-General of the AI Sub Committee of China National Information Technology Standardization Network (SAC/TC28/SC 42), global AI standardization landscape currently faces four major challenges: first, its broad scope and the urgent need for ethical and safety-related standards; second, the long value chain involving hardware, software, algorithms, and sector-specific applications; third, the rapid iteration of technologies such as foundation models, intelligent computing centers, and AI agents; and fourth, its wide-ranging applications across science, healthcare, automotive, and other sectors.
For example, although the smart terminal industry is developing rapidly, the lack of a unified classification system has led to chaotic competition on the supply side and confusion for consumers trying to assess a product’s intelligence level. The embodied intelligence industry, meanwhile, suffers from the absence of technical standards, poor interoperability, difficulty in market access, low public acceptance, and elevated costs. Additionally, there is a pressing need to develop replicable and scalable demonstration scenarios for AI deployment, including pilot projects and testing grounds, to support broader industry adoption.
Against this backdrop, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Artificial Intelligence Standardization Working Group was officially launched. “Establishing the working group in the Greater Bay Area is intended to fully leverage the region’s strengths in industry, geographic openness, and innovation capacity, and to use standardization as a tool to drive AI-powered industrial development,” said Wu Haiyun, head of the Working Group.
In terms of industrial concentration, the Greater Bay Area not only has strong capabilities in AI chip development and large-model training but also offers rich application scenarios in smart ports, cross-border transportation, and intelligent manufacturing. This creates a seamless chain from technology to practice and helps avoid resource fragmentation.
In terms of geographic advantage, the region’s integration with international norms through Hong Kong and Macao facilitates global dialogue and alignment on AI standards. This helps build an open, collaborative, and interoperable standardization system and allows AI technologies to better support cross-border industrial ecosystems.
In terms of innovation collaboration, the Greater Bay Area has in recent years actively advanced digital government and smart city initiatives, building extensive experience in cross-sector innovation that brings together enterprises, universities, and government agencies. This forms a strong foundation for AI standardization efforts.
“On the one hand, this will enable the Working Group to quickly pool resources, ensure that standards align with policy directions and industry needs, and anticipate future trends. On the other hand, it will help accelerate the transformation of technological outcomes into standards and refine a development mechanism driven by demand, scenario-based application, standard-setting, and scaled deployment,” said Wu Haiyun.
How will the Greater Bay Area become a hub for AI standard-setting?
By transforming industrial strengths into global standard-setting influence.
Based on the region’s technological innovation and industrial development needs, what are the Working Group’s specific goals?
“Our short- and medium-term goal is to accelerate the conversion of AI research outcomes into standards and to build an AI standards application ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area,” said Wu Haiyun. “In the long term, we aim to establish a globally connected AI standard-setting hub led by collaboration among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao.”
How will AI standardization promote the deep integration of technology and industry in the Greater Bay Area?
“We aim to transform the region’s strengths in embodied intelligence and AI terminals into international standard-setting influence,” Wu said. The Working Group will focus on core foundational standards and those suited to the Greater Bay Area’s unique application scenarios, building a globally competitive industrial ecosystem. At the same time, it will collect feedback on challenges enterprises face when implementing standards, dynamically optimize standard content, and continually empower industry development.
To accelerate practical AI adoption, the Working Group will use standards to promote scalable and commercial deployment. It will organize joint efforts among enterprises, academic institutions, research bodies, and users to develop verification standards for AI applications. Relying on the National Engineering Research Center for Standardization of Electronic Information Products, the Working Group will also establish an AI pilot testing platform in the Greater Bay Area, offering full-chain technical services to support industrial applications.
Several standardization projects were also signed on the day of the launch. Guangzhou Branch of China Everbright Bank and SecLead Digital Technology Co., Ltd. both entered strategic partnerships with Guangzhou Saixi Standard Testing Research Institute Co., Ltd.
“We will work to integrate the bank’s internal credit evaluation system with AI-based assessment standards to create a more scientific and comprehensive enterprise assessment model,” said He Fen, General Manager of Inclusive Finance at Guangzhou Branch of China Everbright Bank. She noted that both parties will jointly develop exclusive financial products for AI companies to improve credit precision and enhance access to financing.
AI’s global expansion is not just about exporting Chinese technologies and products - it also represents the global dissemination of Chinese standards. According to Wu Haiyun, the Working Group will identify mature and effective AI deployment scenarios and develop flagship “Bay Area cases,” leveraging the region’s international connectivity. These cases will serve as the basis for joint standard-setting initiatives with institutions in Hong Kong and Macao. The aim is to develop high-quality “Bay Area Standards” that promote the export of Chinese technical solutions to Belt and Road partner countries, positioning the Greater Bay Area as a strategic anchor and gateway for the global adoption of Chinese standards.
“AI is profoundly reshaping industries. Its value lies not only in the technology itself but also in its ability to help sectors improve efficiency and build new competitive advantages,” said Lin Zetian, Secretary-General of the Bay Area International Industry Development Association. He emphasized that Hong Kong’s strong research foundation provides robust support for technology innovation and standards development.
Regarding differences in standard adoption between Hong Kong and the mainland, Lin noted that the current stage of AI development presents a rare opportunity for both sides to start on equal footing. “Everyone is still in the early stages; the standards system is not yet finalized. That means the playing field is relatively level in terms of influence and experience. This is the perfect time for the Greater Bay Area to harness its collaborative advantage. From Hong Kong’s international perspective, we can propose forward-looking standards that help align the Greater Bay Area’s approach with global norms.”
Standardization is not only a technical specification - it is also the foundation of industrial maturity and international competitiveness. Zhang Zhenyu, General Manager of SecLead Digital Technology Co., Ltd., cited a notable example: as early as 2000, China’s security industry led the development of a national networking standard that enabled interoperability across vendors. This accelerated industry growth and helped Chinese security firms succeed in global markets.
“Therefore, in the field of artificial intelligence, we must proactively pursue standardization and develop more advanced and higher-level standards,” Zhang said. “If Chinese standards can become globally accepted, it will significantly enhance the international competitiveness of Chinese technology enterprises.”
