Hong Kong and Shenzhen are jointly promoting the construction of two bridges across the Shenzhen River, connecting the Hong Kong and Shenzhen parks in the Hetao area. With facial recognition technology, it can achieve rapid personnel flow in the parks, "said Ma Weishan, CEO of the Hong Kong Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park Company, to reporters. The northern metropolitan area (referred to as "Beidu") borders Shenzhen and covers an area of about one-third of Hong Kong. In October 2021, the Hong Kong SAR government proposed the "Northern Metropolis Development Strategy", proposing to develop the northern part of Hong Kong into a livable, business friendly, and tourist friendly metropolitan area. Over the past four years, Beidu has gradually transformed from a blueprint vision to a beautiful reality, and the ideas, goals, paths, and mechanisms for construction and development have become increasingly mature. On December 22, 2025, the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone (referred to as the "Hetao Hong Kong Park") located in the core area of Beidou was officially opened. This is a milestone moment for the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong, "said Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. The Hetao Cooperation Zone is located in the cross-border border area between the northern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the central southern part of Shenzhen. It is a natural intersection between the northern metropolitan area of Hong Kong and the Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, with an area of approximately 3.89 square kilometers. Among them, the Shenzhen park covers an area of 3.02 square kilometers, and the Hong Kong park covers an area of 0.87 square kilometers. The functional positioning of the Hetao Hong Kong Industrial Park is four major development directions: "building a world-class industry university research platform," "constructing an internationally competitive industrial pilot transformation base," "creating a global hub for innovation and scientific resources," and "opening up experimental fields for institutional and policy innovation. Ma Weishan stated that over 60 companies have signed contracts with the park and are currently settling in. Xiamen Haichen, which specializes in the research and development of energy storage batteries and systems, is one of the largest tenants in the park and plans to recruit 200 people to work here. Hong Kong is the best place to meet the company's research and development and globalization needs, and the Hetao Hong Kong Park has multiple advantages of 'favorable timing, location, and people', "said Wang Pengcheng, General Manager of Xiamen Haichen Energy Storage Technology Co., Ltd. The total floor area of the park will reach 2 million square meters, providing nearly 100000 jobs, and is expected to contribute HKD 100 billion to Hong Kong's gross domestic product after operation. ”Sun Dong, the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, told reporters that the remaining five buildings of the first phase of the Hong Kong Industrial Park will be completed gradually from 2027, and the planning for the second phase of the park has been completed. Fang Ke, the research director of the Hong Kong "One Country, Two Systems" Research Center, believes that Hong Kong has abundant scientific research resources and significant advantages in upstream research; Guangdong, especially Shenzhen, has a complete industrial chain and can provide support for the middle and lower reaches. The combination of these two forces can provide a very strong driving force for the development of China's high-tech industry, which is also the future opportunity for Hong Kong's innovation and technology development. Accelerating the promotion of the northern metropolitan area, which covers an area of about 300 square kilometers, including new towns, multiple new development zones, and adjacent areas. In addition to the Hetao Hong Kong Park, the new development area also includes Gudong North/Fanling North, Hongshuiqiao/Xiacun, and Xintian Technology City. 2025 is the year when Beidu Development breaks through the impasse. ”Chen Shaobo, the director of the Hong Kong Zhengsi Research Institute, said that Hong Kong is taking a series of measures to accelerate the construction of the northern capital. The 2025 Policy Address proposes the establishment of the "North City Development Committee" led by the Chief Executive to enhance the decision-making level. In November 2025, the Special Administrative Region Government announced the "Conceptual Outline of the Development Plan for the Innovation and Technology Industry in Xintian Science and Technology City", which outlines the development vision, goals and positioning, industrial spatial layout and development model of the new technology land in the science and technology city from the top-level design. Xintian Technology City is located in the heart of the northern city, and together with the Hetao area, it will form the "Central District of the northern city". It is considered a core driving force for the development of innovation and science in Hong Kong. It is estimated that after the full operation of Xintian Technology City, it will contribute at least HKD 250 billion annually to Hong Kong's gross domestic product and provide over 300000 related full-time jobs. The Hongshuiqiao/Xiacun New Development Zone is located in the western part of Beidu, near the Shenzhen Bay Port, and is positioned as a "high-end professional service and logistics hub". On December 29, 2025, the Development Bureau of the Special Administrative Region Government announced the establishment of Hongshuiqiao Industrial Park Co., Ltd., responsible for developing and operating an industrial park located in Hongshuiqiao with an area of approximately 0.23 square kilometers, aiming to be put into operation by mid-2026. The next day, the SAR government publicly tendered for a new development area in Hongshuiqiao/Xiacun, which was the first tendered area in Beidu. In the view of Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council member Elizabeth Tse, the SAR government has broken the traditional "land price first" model and adopted "industry first" and "development first", reflecting its determination to deepen reforms. In the future, Hong Kong is fully committed to building itself into an international innovation and technology center. With the opening of the Hong Kong Industrial Park in Hetao and the gradual clarification of the planning and positioning of Xintian Science and Technology City, industries such as life and health technology, artificial intelligence, and new energy are accelerating their layout in Beidou, further highlighting the new pattern of "southern finance, northern innovation and technology". The core value of Beidu lies in using innovation and science as a link to activate multidimensional momentum. ”Sun Yu, Vice Chairman and President of Bank of China Hong Kong, the largest Chinese bank in Hong Kong, said that the planning of the Hetao Cooperation Zone and Xintian Technology City not only inherits Hong Kong's scientific research advantages, but also links with Shenzhen's industrial resources, providing application scenarios for financial innovation. 2026 is the starting year of the national "15th Five Year Plan". The development of Beidou is a specific measure taken by the SAR government to actively connect with the 15th Five Year Plan, "said Ning Hanhao, Director of the Development Bureau of the SAR government. Beidou will bring strong development momentum to Hong Kong, which is conducive to promoting more comprehensive cooperation between Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area; It can also leverage Hong Kong's unique advantage of being backed by the motherland and connected to the world, allowing Hong Kong to better contribute to national development. The accelerated development of exclusive legislation for the Northern Capital is expected to be completed by 2026. The legislation will provide convenient methods for managing cross-border flows in designated areas, including people, logistics, data, and capital flows, and introduce preferential policies such as land grants, land prices, subsidies, or tax reductions. Chen Shaobo said that Hong Kong, which is in a critical period of transition from governance to prosperity, is facing the dual task of transforming old and new driving forces and integrating into the overall development of the country. As the engine driving Hong Kong's future development, Beidou not only undertakes the important task of improving people's livelihoods and technological innovation, but also explores the development model of the Special Administrative Region under the "One Country, Two Systems" policy. For the construction of the northern capital, all sectors in Hong Kong need to fully understand its value and significance at the national level, fully support the innovative efforts of the SAR government, and jointly open up new horizons and achieve new breakthroughs. (New Society)