The eighth Belt and Road Summit jointly organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council will be held in Hong Kong for two consecutive days from tomorrow (September 13). The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (September 12) met with the delegation of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) and the chief executives of state-owned enterprises (SoEs) at Government House. The delegation came to Hong Kong to attend the Summit. The delegation is led by the Vice Chairman of the SASAC, Mr Gou Ping, and comprises more than 260 members from over 35 SoEs.
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau; the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan; and the Commissioner for Belt and Road, Mr Nicholas Ho, also attended the meeting.
Mr Lee said that the delegation led by the SASAC to participate in this year's Summit is the largest compared with the previous ones. He thanked the SASAC and SoEs for their strong support for the Summit, marking the milestone of the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Mr Lee pointed out that with its diversified and comprehensive professional services, as well as its financing channels, Hong Kong could open up the Belt and Road market with SoEs together to enhance the "soft connectivity" of the Belt and Road and contribute to its high-quality development. A special Middle East Forum and sessions on finance arranged for this year's Summit will promote the connections of Hong Kong's business and professional services sectors with enterprises on the Mainland and the rest of the world, he added. Mr Lee encouraged Mainland and Hong Kong enterprises to participate in the exchange session with enterprises of the Middle East to build connections and explore collaboration opportunities. He also encouraged the SoEs to actively participate in the Summit and make use of Hong Kong as a platform to explore the immense business opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative.
In the evening, Mr Lee hosted a networking dinner at Government House. The attendees included representatives from Hong Kong's political, business and professional sectors, members of the SASAC delegation, as well as representatives who will attend the Summit, including the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office and Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Mr Zheng Yanxiong; the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, Ms Guo Tingting; the Vice Chairman of the SASAC, Mr Gou Ping; the Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mr Xiao Weiming, and the Acting Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the HKSAR, Mr Pan Yundong. Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the guests and his hope that they would continue to support Hong Kong's full participation in the Belt and Road Initiative.
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