​The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, continued his visit to Hainan today (March 26) to meet with leaders of Hainan Province and witness the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the People's Government of Hainan Province. He also exchanged views with young people from Hong Kong who are starting businesses and working in Hainan.
In the morning, Mr Lee met with the Secretary of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, Mr Feng Fei, to exchange views on enhancing Hong Kong's co-operation with Hainan. Noting the close economic and trade ties between Hong Kong and Hainan, Mr Lee said that Hong Kong has long been the major source of external investment in Hainan, with many Hong Kong enterprises conducting business in the province. In 2024, more than 700 Hong Kong enterprises were established in Hainan, and the realised direct investment from Hong Kong was RMB15 billion. With the customs closure operation of the Hainan Free Trade Port and the implementation of preferential policies, Hong Kong enterprises and professionals will have more development opportunities in Hainan.
After the meeting, Mr Lee and Mr Feng attended the Signing Ceremony of the Hainan-Hong Kong Memorandum of Cooperation. They witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the HKSAR Government and the People's Government of Hainan Province on deepening co-operation in five areas, namely trade and investment, finance, safe flow of data, tourism, and talent exchanges.
Mr Lee noted that the HKSAR Government is fully leveraging Hong Kong's unique advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle of having strong support of the country while maintaining unparalleled connectivity with the world. Hong Kong is committed to contributing to the introduction of international projects to Hainan and facilitating Hainan's capital investments in overseas markets, with a view to jointly venturing into the global market with Hainan. The HKSAR Government will promote collaborative development and mutual benefits between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Hainan Free Trade Port, making greater contributions to the country's high-quality development and high-level opening up.
In the afternoon, Mr Lee met with young people from Hong Kong who are working and starting businesses in Hainan to learn about their daily lives and latest developments. He encouraged them to better understand the scope and policies covered in the Memorandum of Cooperation signed by the governments of the two places to seize the opportunities within and realise their aspirations. He also called on the young people to contribute to fostering mutual engagement and integrated development between citizens of the two places.
In the evening, Mr Lee attended a dinner hosted by the organiser of the Boao Forum for Asia.
Mr Lee will continue his visit tomorrow (March 27) to attend the opening plenary of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025.
Follow this news feed: East Asia