The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (September 20) led the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) delegation to attend the 27th Beijing Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium (the Symposium) and the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Conference being held today and tomorrow (September 20 and 21) at the Zhongguancun International Innovation Center in Beijing.
The Symposium, held since 1997, is an important platform for promoting Beijing-Hong Kong trade and economic co-operation, in particular for attracting enterprises and investment. The theme of this year's Symposium is "Leveraging mutual strengths, creating prosperity together". Apart from the 15 thematic promotional sessions and other activities such as site visits, the Symposium also included for the first time the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Conference jointly organised by the relevant bureaux of the HKSAR Government and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality. Keynote speeches and promotions focusing on Hong Kong's unique advantages, business environment and measures servicing enterprises of Beijing and Hong Kong and facilitating their co-operation were featured. The Symposium attracted around 800 participants.
Speaking at the opening ceremony this morning, Mr Lee said that it was of profound significance for Beijing and Hong Kong to jointly organise the Symposium again in Beijing on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. He pointed out that Beijing has always been an important partner of Hong Kong, and co-operation of the two cities to complement their strengths on all fronts would be conducive to the development of businesses of Beijing enterprises in the Hong Kong and global markets.
He said, "This is the first time for the Symposium to include a theme of promoting 'invest in Hong Kong' to underline the investment opportunities in and business advantages of Hong Kong with a view to fostering exchanges and co-operation between the enterprises in Beijing and Hong Kong and injecting greater impetus into the economies of the two places."
Mr Lee introduced Hong Kong's unique advantages of enjoying strong support of the Motherland and being closely connected to the world under "one country, two systems". He also pointed out that Hong Kong has long been playing an active role in the country's reform and opening up, and fully dovetailing with key national strategies such as the National 14th Five-Year Plan, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative, proactively integrating into the overall national development and accelerating the development of new quality productive forces.
The HKSAR delegation led by the Chief Executive comprises government officials including the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui; the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung; the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong; the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip; the Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services), Ms Salina Yan; and the Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan. The HKSAR Government has also organised through the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Invest Hong Kong and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises a delegation led by Hong Kong's major chambers of commerce and including prominent members and business representatives from the local industrial and commercial sectors to attend the Symposium.
In his remarks on "invest in Hong Kong" at an themed promotion activity in the morning, Mr Chan said that Beijing and Hong Kong could enhance co-operation in three key areas: first, to better leverage the financial strengths to support innovation and technology (I&T) development; second, to enhance co-operation in I&T and the digital economy; and third, to co-operate in developing international business.
Mr Chan pointed out that Hong Kong is an international financial centre with a complete financing market and is at the same time actively constructing the "patient capital" ecosystem to provide strong financial support for I&T development. In respect of I&T, both Beijing and Hong Kong are proactively developing into an international I&T hub, and there is ample room for co-operation in the development of new quality productive forces. In addition, Hong Kong's high-level professional services are familiarised with the international market and standards, and possess a worldwide business network, which could provide comprehensive and sound supporting services for Mainland enterprises to develop international businesses.
The Executive Vice Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Zhou Ji; the Mayor of Beijing, Mr Yin Yong; Vice Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council Mr Gou Ping; Vice Minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, Mr Zhou Liang; Vice Mayor of Beijing Ms Sima Hong, as well as the Chairman of the HKTDC, Dr Peter Lam, also spoke at the opening ceremony and the themed promotion activity. The Symposium also featured a signing ceremony of a number of key co-operation projects between Beijing and Hong Kong covering sectors including finance, technology and intelligent manufacturing, and the sharing by two key enterprises on their successful experiences in Beijing-Hong Kong co-operation and investing in Hong Kong. The Symposium announced about 170 bilateral investment and business promotion projects, with a total investment of around RMB42 billion covering four major categories, namely spatial resources, corporate financing, technological co-operation and enterprises' going global drive.
Mr Lee then met with the Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, Mr Yin Li, and attended a luncheon hosted by him. Mr Lee noted that over 13 000 Hong Kong enterprises have been established in Beijing, with an accumulated actual investment of nearly US$136 billion, accounting for nearly 65 per cent of Beijing's total actual external investment. Mr Lee also said that as at 2023, the total number of Beijing enterprises investing in Hong Kong has exceeded 1 900, with over 200 of them listed in the city, noting that these figures fully reflect the achievements from the years of efforts by the governments of Beijing and Hong Kong in promoting co-operation between the two places. Mr Lee said that Hong Kong will continue to make good use of its favourable business environment to serve as Mainland enterprises' best connector to the international market, and will collaborate with Beijing to enhance industry development and competitiveness.
In the afternoon, the HKSAR Government, the HKTDC and the relevant Beijing authorities jointly organised three special promotion activities on finance, technological innovation as well as trade and logistics to promote investment in Hong Kong, during which Mr Hui, Mr Lam, Professor Sun and Dr Chan delivered speeches. The activity themed "Beijing and Hong Kong Join Hands to Bolster the High-Quality Development of Financial Sector" discussed the financial development direction of Beijing and Hong Kong in the fields of financial technology, corporate financing and asset management. The "Special Promotion Activity on Tech and Innovation Enterprises to 'Venture Overseas by Sharing a Boat'" focused on how Hong Kong leverages its role as a bridge to help Beijing's technology innovation enterprises expand into overseas markets and enhance international co-operation. The "Special Promotion Activity for Trade and Logistics Cooperation" highlighted Hong Kong's strengths and latest developments in the service and logistics sectors as an international trade centre. Government officials, relevant experts and representative enterprises of the two places spoke and shared their successful experiences at the events, which helped deepen local enterprises' understanding on Hong Kong's advantages and opportunities in the respective sectors, with a view to attracting more Mainland enterprises to co-operate with Hong Kong and achieving mutual benefits.
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