China on Friday announced new policies enabling residents of Shenzhen and Zhuhai in Guangdong, the economic powerhouse province, to make more frequent visits to neighboring Hong Kong and Macao, two special administrative regions (SARs).

The measures are seen as the country's latest efforts to enhance mobility and foster deeper integration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

According to a statement from the Exit and Entry Administration, starting Dec. 1, 2024, permanent residents of Shenzhen and holders of residence permits in the city will be eligible to apply for multi-entry permits to Hong Kong. The permits allow unlimited visits to the city within a year, with each stay capped at seven days.

The policy has drawn a positive response from the Hong Kong stock market. Among its rising stocks, cosmetics retail giant Sa Sa International closed at 75 HK cents (about 9.6 U.S. cents) per share, representing a significant increase of 11.94 percent.

Moreover, from Jan. 1, 2025, permanent residents of Zhuhai City will be able to apply for a "one trip per week" permit for Macao. Under the policy, they can visit Macao once per calendar week, with a maximum stay of seven days per trip.

Also starting Jan. 1, 2025, permanent residents and residence permit holders in the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin will be eligible to apply for multi-entry permits to Macao, enabling unrestricted visits for up to seven days per stay within a one-year validity period.

These policies align with the surging numbers of mainland tourists in the two regions. In October, Hong Kong and Macao saw more than 3.13 million and 2.26 million entries from the mainland, up by 16.2 percent and 16.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.

John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), welcomed the new policies on his Weibo social media account, noting that they are good news for Hong Kong.

Released statistics indicate the number of eligible Shenzhen applicants for multi-entry permits to Hong Kong could surpass 10 million, Lee said.

The new policies will provide greater convenience for people in Shenzhen to travel to Hong Kong freely and fully experience the exciting, diverse tourism activities in Hong Kong all year round, and they will bring benefits to tourism-related industries such as retail and catering, according to Lee.

He noted that the HKSAR has held an interdepartmental meeting to make comprehensive preparations for the new arrangements, aiming to ensure the smooth operations of relevant sectors such as ports, tourist facilities and public transportation networks for the benefit of travelers.

"I hope the policy will expand to cover the entire province of Guangdong so that I can meet my relatives and friends from the mainland here frequently," a netizen from Hong Kong commented under Lee's Weibo post.

Shenzhen residents have also expressed excitement over the new policies. On Xiaohongshu, a popular lifestyle social media platform, a netizen said that he has already invited his friends on a weekend hike along the famous Maclehose Trail in Hong Kong, and to have seafood and drinks afterward. Another said that she has already decided to spend this Christmas in Hong Kong.

The Greater Bay Area, encompassing China's two special administrative regions and nine cities in Guangdong, is home to around 86 million people. It serves as a hub for innovation, manufacturing, finance and trade, maintaining dynamic connections to global markets. Last year, the region's total economic output matched that of Canada. 

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