Editorial

Because of its geographical location and economic significance for the whole country, the central government initiated the GBA Development Strategy (Chen, 2018). The GBA concept gained saliency on the basis of South China's unprecedented growth since the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, the industrialization of the Pearl River Delta, the renovation of Macau as a world class entertainment center and the international interdependence of Hong Kong's financial sector with the highest density of top-ranked universities in the world. China's nationwide regional development strategy framework centers on the aim of building a more innovation economy that will support a structural rebalancing from a labor intensive, low investment, export-oriented economy to a high-tech manufacturing and service-based economy that relies more on domestic consumption. “Higher education institution in GBA can become world leaders in addressing problems like COVID-19, future pandemics, climate change, global poverty, equity and social justice, and sustainable development in innovative ways.