Chief Executive John Lee concluded his visit to Shanghai today by meeting Shanghai Mayor Zhu Zhongming. Executive Deputy Director of the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council’s Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office Xu Qifang joined the meeting.
Mr Lee remarked that Hong Kong and Shanghai have long maintained close co-operation. Since the establishment of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference mechanism in 2003, he said, the two places have engaged in frequent exchanges and achieved fruitful results in areas including the economy and trade, finance, innovation and technology, education, culture and youth.
He highlighted that this year more than 400 Hong Kong enterprises took part in the ninth China International Import Expo, the highest number on record.
Mr Lee mentioned that the “Hong Kong Parallel Session”, held yesterday at the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, featured an in-depth discussion on Hong Kong’s new opportunities during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, and drew Mainland enterprises’ attention to Hong Kong’s unique advantage of connecting the Mainland and the world under the “one country, two systems” principle.
The Chief Executive thanked the Shanghai Municipal Government for its support, wished the expo great success, and expressed hope that the two places will continue to deepen co-operation and contribute to the country’s high-quality development.
Mr Lee also remarked that Shanghai is the leading city in the Yangtze River Delta Economic City Group, while Hong Kong is one of the central cities in the Greater Bay Area, meaning both are engines driving regional economic prosperity.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, he said, is now implementing Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan and pressing ahead with the development of “four centres and one hub”, which aligns closely with Shanghai’s “five centres” initiative, creating further complementarity between the two cities.
Mr Lee added that Hong Kong will continue to play its roles as a “super connector” and a “super value-adder”, further the work of the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global, and provide comprehensive support for more Mainland enterprises, including those from Shanghai, to expand into new markets.
He also Lee thanked the Shanghai Gold Exchange for supporting Hong Kong’s development as an international gold trading centre.
The Chief Executive highlighted that the Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company and the Shanghai Gold Exchange launched the initial phase of “Delivery Connect” this year, and that Hong Kong’s central clearing and settlement system for gold will be officially launched in the first quarter of next year.
Mr Lee concluded departed for Hong Kong in the afternoon.