“Hong Kong has been ranked as the freest economy in the world for 25 years. One country, two systems is the biggest strength of Hong Kong and Macau, while the mainland’s reform and opening up are the biggest stage for them to perform,” said Guo, who heads the commission’s department of regional economy.

“The difference between the Greater Bay Area and other bay areas in the world lies in one country, two systems. It is our strength, and also a principle of the whole planning process.”

Admitting the region still lagged behind other bay areas in terms of innovation and technology, Guo said it should be a motivation to succeed, and the project’s goals were achievable.

Lin, a vice-chairman of the commission, also said respecting the governing principle for Hong Kong and Macau, as well as their autonomy, was the key to successful integration of the 11 cities involved.

On Monday, Beijing published its Greater Bay Area blueprint to turn Hong Kong, Macau and nine Guangdong cities into a cluster of world-class metropolises, and a thriving global centre of technology, innovation and economic vibrancy rivalling Silicon Valley by 2035.

The collective economies currently have a combined population of about 70 million and a GDP of US$1.58 trillion.

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said at the event the city would be an active participant in the bay area project.

In a reference to a term her predecessor, Leung Chun-ying, had used to described the city, Lam said: “Hong Kong’s role in the development of the Greater Bay Area needs to change from being a connector to being a more proactive participant. Meanwhile, the government’s new roles of facilitator and promoter will help Hong Kong take part in the development of the Greater Bay Area, allowing everyone in Hong Kong to become beneficiaries.”

While business chambers and pro-establishment politicians joined the government in welcoming the plan, opposition lawmakers questioned whether the one country, two systems principle, and Hong Kong’s freedoms, would be eroded during integration.

Addressing such concerns, Lam said: “It will not, as some people worry, blur the boundaries between the two systems, nor will it weaken Hong Kong’s status as a separate customs territory. It certainly will not lead to the assimilation of Hong Kong into the mainland either.”

She said the government would assist young people starting businesses in various Greater Bay Area cities with start-up grants and incubation services.

In his speech, Lin made it clear the principle under which Hong Kong and Macau were governed topped the list of priorities when it came to guiding the plan to fruition.

“We have to insist on the principles of one country, two systems, Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong, Macau people governing Macau, and a high degree of autonomy for both. We have to make sure the system will not change or be swayed,” the NDRC vice-chairman said.

Guangdong governor Ma Xingrui and Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on also spoke at the 90-minute event.

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Ma said he would make sure Guangdong contributed to the success of the bay area.

“We will mobilise the whole province’s might … as this plan has unlimited prospects,” he said.

The event, at the Ocean Park Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong, was attended by hundreds of businessmen and officials from Hong Kong and mainland China.

They included former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, deputy director of Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Huang Liuquan, and almost every minister in Lam’s administration.

Before the event, former opposition lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung protested outside the venue, warning the bay area plan would be a waste of public money and destroy the city’s autonomy.

The city’s sole delegate to China’s top legislative body, Tam Yiu-chung, said the repeated mentions of one country, two systems showed how much importance Beijing placed on the city’s role.

However, local lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, a National People’s Congress delegate, expected further integration to spark more judicial conflicts across the border, posing a challenge on how to maintain two systems.