Interview with CityU research team: Cross-regional collaboration innovation facilitates Greater Bay Area-Lusophone market integration

City University of Macau (CityU) adheres to the principle of integrating innovation with practice, incorporating cutting-edge technological advancements into its teaching to enhance educational quality and improve the learning experience. With the support of the SAR Government Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), several innovative achievements in smart education and technology education from the University were recently exhibited at the DSEDJ’s Centre of Educational Resources. Under the core concept of empowering education through technology, the exhibition brought together the wisdom of faculty and student teams from the Faculty of Data Science (FDS), showcasing the deep integration and breakthroughs of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in fields such as education, healthcare, meteorology, and manufacturing.

This issues features in-depth dialogue and introduces the “Research and Application of Cooperative Multi-Agent Platform for Zhuhai-Macao Manufacturing Service”, exploring how to leverage the unique advantages of the Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) and Macao to achieve deep integration between manufacturing and high-end services. In fact, this innovative platform has empowered multiple enterprises, such as Gree – Chinese home appliances manufacturer, to tap into the Portuguese-speaking markets while promoting industrial synergy between China and the lusophone countries, as well as between Guangdong and Macao, thereby contributing to the development of the Greater Bay Area.

Research and Application of Cooperative Multi-Agent Platform for Zhuhai-Macao Manufacturing Service

Research team

Supervisor: Associate Professor Chris Chu Chia-Wei

Students: Zou Shujie, Zhao Zefeng, Cai Haohao, Jiang Wenlan, Li Yehao

Achievement Overview

Aligned with strategic opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the development of the Greater Bay Area, CityU, in partnership with the Gree Electric Appliances, Inc., headquartered Zhuhai, and Hefei University of Technology, has carried out the national key research and development project “Research and Application of Cooperative Multi-Agent Platform for Zhuhai-Macao Manufacturing Service”.

The research addresses the needs and challenges faced by large enterprises in the Greater Bay Area when expanding into Portuguese-speaking countries and BRI markets. It conducts a cross-regional, interdisciplinary, and cross-system studies on synergizing manufacturing sector in Zhuhai (representing the Bay Area) with its business chains in Macao, along with the development of an intelligent support platform. Using Gree's overseas expansion as a case study, the project employs big data integration and smart technologies to simulate and analyze feasible approaches for integrating Macao’s service sector into the business chains of Greater Bay Area enterprises like Gree, as well as the related intelligent interconnection technologies. The research and its applications hold significant importance for supporting the global expansion of Chinese manufacturing, enhancing industrial synergy between China and Portuguese-speaking countries (as well as Guangdong and Macao), leveraging Macao's role as a platform between China and the lusophone nations, and promoting the appropriate diversification of Macao's industries.

Interview

Q1. The project highlights leveraging Macao’s service industry advantages as a platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs), such as professional services, language and culture, to empower manufacturing enterprises in the Greater Bay Area. Using Gree as an example, could you elaborate on how Macao’s services have been integrated into Gree’s business chain and what practical value this has brought?

Research team: Our advantages as the China-PSCs platform have been deeply integrated into Gree’s R&D (research and development) and industrial chain, generating significant synergistic effects and practical value. In terms of strategic alignment of professional service resources, our project fully leverages the city’s unique strengths in high-end service sectors such as legal, financial, and international certification services.Macao’s internationally aligned legal system and multilingual services provide professional support for Gree’s compliant operations in PSCs markets. In the financial sector, Macao’s well-established cross-border financial service system (including the China-PSCs cooperation and development fund and Macao’s Renminbi clearing center) offers financing convenience for their overseas projects.Particularly noteworthy is Macao’s one-stop service for EU product certification, which significantly shortens the certification cycle for Gree products entering Portuguese-speaking markets.

In terms of its intermediary role in branding and cultural translation, it would be difficult for Gree to build brand recognition in Portuguese-speaking markets relying solely on its Chinese parent company. By collaborating with marketing consultants or translation teams in Macao who are familiar with Portuguese-speaking cultures, Gree can better tailor its advertising designs, packaging language, and even product naming to local consumer preferences, thereby enhancing market acceptance and its conversion rate.

With the integration of Macao's financial services sector, Gree has reduced cultural risks, shortened communication cycle, and enhanced brand friendliness and competitiveness in local markets during its international expansion. This exemplifies the core proposition of our research project: the “Macao-China-PSCs platform + Greater Bay Area manufacturing” model is not merely a geographical alliance but a complementary integration of professional service chains between the three sides. It enables manufacturing and service industries to upgrade together, achieving synergistic innovation.

Q2. What are the most direct impacts expected from this research project on Gree’s overseas expansion, Macao’s role as the China-PSCs platform and industrial diversification, as well as the development of the Greater Bay Area and BRI cooperation?

Research team: Through the implementation of this project, we have validated the feasibility and significant potential of integrating Macao’s financial service advantages with the manufacturing capabilities of the Greater Bay Area. This collaborative model of combining services with manufacturing not only provides strong support for the Gree’s expansion into Portuguese-speaking markets but also opens new pathways for Macao’s appropriate economic diversification. Furthermore, it enriches international cooperation in the Greater Bay Area.

This project has profound cross-field implications, spanning from corporate global expansion to regional economic development, and extending to the national strategic level of BRI cooperation. As members of the project, we have systematically evaluated and conducted field research to clearly outline its direct contributions to Gree’s development, Macao’s economy, and the development of the Greater Bay Area. These impacts include both short-term outcomes and long-term sustainable momentum.

Accelerating Gree’s Internationalization:

In terms of market expansion, the project has opened a fast track for Gree to tap into the Portuguese-speaking markets. Leveraging Macao’s China-PSCs resources, Gree has gained unprecedented acceleration in expanding its business in markets such as Brazil, Portugal, and Angola. Furthermore, by utilizing the city’s unique ties with Portuguese-speaking countries, Gree can transform its existing manufacturing base in Brazil into a regional supply chain hub, thereby serving the neighboring Portuguese-speaking markets and establishing a new operational model of “Brazilian factory + Macao services”.

In promoting industrial diversification, the project has infused Macao’s economic structure with valuable technological elements. Moving away from being traditionally dominated by gambling and tourism, Macao’s economy is now gradually accumulating experience and talent in areas such as smart manufacturing, AI, and information security.

Q3. What difficulties and challenges did you encounter during the project, and how were they ultimately overcome?

Research Team: We indeed faced numerous challenges at various stages, ranging from internal collaboration and external communication for data acquisition and industry chain connections. This was a true test of our ability and determination.Firstly, the diverse background and expertise of our team was both an opportunity and a challenge in the initial stage. Our members came from three different Faculties, leading to different perspectives and technical languages when approaching research problems. Initially, defining research questions and assigning tasks often caused delays due to these differing viewpoints. However, we addressed this proactively through group discussions, developing the research framework, and standardizing terminology. This process gradually built effective cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Secondly, during the empirical research phase, we encountered obstacles related to insufficient data and difficulties in conducting interviews. This was particularly challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic, as cross-border field visits and interviews were difficult to arrange, and companies were often hesitant to share commercial data. We adapted by adopting a mixed-methods approach, supplementing with simulated data for analysis, conducting remote video interviews, and adjusting our research design accordingly to keep the project moving forward.

Furthermore, balancing time management and academic pressure was a significant challenge for us as full-time students. Often, we had regular coursework and thesis writing, but we still dedicated substantial effort to project data analysis, model construction, and report writing. Late nights and weekends were spent working together in study rooms or on online meetings. We had conducted testing, making mistakes, and continued refining our work. It was this sense of responsibility, teamwork and support that ultimately enabled us to complete all tasks within the deadline.

In summary, these challenges provided us with a deeper appreciation for the value of teamwork and a profound understanding of both the gaps and the connections between the ideal and the reality of academic research. What we gained was more than a research achievement. It was a collaborative and growth-oriented journey worth remembering.

Q4. Looking back on the entire project, beyond the technical outcomes, what was the most significant gain for the team and for you individually?

Research Team: Beyond the exciting technical outcomes, our most significant gain as a team was establishing a more efficient and resilient framework for collaboration and problem-solving. In tackling interdisciplinary challenges, we learned how to actively seek cross-disciplinary support. This process significantly enhanced our cohesion and ability to handle uncertainty. Another key gain was the practical experience in collaborative work. Through our in-depth involvement in co-developing business matching solutions for the manufacturing and service industries, we gained a profound understanding of the complexities of communication within large-scale projects. This not only improved our abilities in upward and lateral communication and collaboration but also provided us with a clearer, more concrete understanding of how synergistic teamwork functions.

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Interview with CityU research team: Cross-regional collaboration innovation facilitates Greater Bay Area-Lusophone market integration

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