On September 6, 2012, the State Council officially gave a reply to the Development Plan for Nansha New Area of Guangzhou and approved it. According to the reply and plan, Nansha New Area has officially become a state-level development zone and the development and construction of Nansha New Area has become one of the national development strategies. It is learned that a press conference for it will be convened in Beijing and some policy recommendation and investment promotion conferences for the development and construction of Nansha New Area will be held in Hong Kong and Macau soon.

The official reply of the State Council has specified the strategic positioning, development goals, priorities and policy supports for the development of Nansha New Area, marking that Nansha New Area has officially become a state-level new zone and regarding the development and construction of Nansha New Area as one of the national development strategies.

According to Lin Jiang, Professor of Lingnan College, Sun Yat-Sen University, as a state-level new zone, Nansha will serve as a bridge connecting the Greater Pearl River Delta region with ASEAN countries and regions. The Greater Pearl River Delta region, consisting of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, never obtained any policy supports in the past, but the newly-approved Nansha New Area, as a state-level new zone, will gain the policy supports, which is of great importance from the perspective of the national strategy.