SAN FRANCISCO, March 29 (Xinhua) -- An international forum on cooperation and development among major global bay areas was held here Friday to focus on their future growth strategies, regional integration and sustainable development.

The Global Bay Areas Cooperation and Development Forum (GBAF), organized by People's Daily Online West U.S.A, brought together prominent leaders, entrepreneurs and scholars from academic institutions, think tanks and major metropolitan and bay areas worldwide, including San Francisco, New York, Tokyo and China's several southern cities, to discuss opportunities, economic globalization, cooperation and challenges with an aim to drive the growth of the world's major bay areas.

Under the theme "Connection, Cooperation, Development," the forum is dedicated to exchanges and cooperation between China's recently established Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and bay areas in other countries, namely San Francisco Bay Area, New York Bay Area and Tokyo Bay Area.

The attendees of the one-day event touched upon a wide range of topics that are vital to cooperation and development among the major bay areas across the world, such as government policy, smart cities, urban development, climate change, technology innovation and investment.

China's Consul General in San Francisco Wang Donghua said the forum was held in line with China's development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"The three world-class bay areas, which are the New York Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area and Tokyo Bay Area, feature openness, innovation, livable environment and global vision," Wang said.

"They serve as the primary growth poles for the economy and the bellwether of technological advancement, thanks to their open economy, efficient distribution of resources, strong accumulation and spillover effect, and developed networks for international exchanges," he added.

Amid the wave of globalization that meets emerging trends in regional development, the global bay areas are now facing a new historical era of development, said Steven Rockefeller, Jr., chairman of PFC & SRJ Culture LLC..

He noted that the forum aims to build a world-class economic cooperation platform, which will lay a solid foundation for the coordinated development and mutual benefit of the bay areas in the future.