An exciting plan is in the works for China to link Hong Kong and Macau with cities to transform the coastal region into a high-tech megalopolis. Its aim is to rival California's Silicon Valley.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the government seeks to turn the area into a leading global innovation hub, boost infrastructure connectivity and strengthen Hong's role as an international centre of finance, shipping and trade as well as the center for the offshore yuan business.

The four key Bay Area cities will include Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. HSBC Holdings Plc has estimated the region — with more than 67 million residents — would boast a trillion-dollar economy and eclipse Japan as the world's fourth-largest exporter.

Chief executive of HSBC's Asia Pacific business, Peter Wong said, "This policy framework sets out a clear vision for a global economic powerhouse in the Greater Bay Area," which allows cities and regions to leverage those complementary strengths more effectively.

Under the blueprint, the major cities of the Greater Bay Area will establish themselves as hubs for different sectors.

Hong Kong will focus on international finance, navigation and trade. Macau will be an international tourism city and a platform for trade with Portuguese speaking countries such as Brazil. Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, will take a role as an administrative hub while Shenzhen - home to Huawei Technologies Co. - will expand its role as a special economic zone and tech hub.

Stocks in the region rose once the strategy was announced and drove the daily limit of Guangzhou Port, Zhuhai Port and Shenzhen Yan Tian Port up by 10 percent. China has already spent billions of dollars on infrastructure projects linking the cities, and the plan now envisages a strategy for the region that stretches to 2035.