​The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met the Secretary of the CPC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee, Mr Xu Qin, at Government House today (March 20) to exchange views on strengthening Hong Kong's co-operation with Heilongjiang. Also attending the meeting were the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip.
Mr Lee welcomed Mr Xu and his delegation to Hong Kong for the Heilongjiang-Hong Kong Investment Cooperation Conference. Mr Lee said he is pleased to meet Mr Xu again since they last met during his visit to Harbin in February. Noting that Hong Kong and Heilongjiang maintain close economic and trade relations, Mr Lee said Hong Kong has been the largest source of external investment in Heilongjiang, with total investments exceeding US$ 34 billion as of last year. Hong Kong will continue to leverage its advantage as a bridge between the Mainland and the world under the "one country, two systems" principle to serve Mainland enterprises in going global while attracting more foreign investment to the country.
Mr Lee highlighted that Heilongjiang's successful hosting of the 9th Asian Winter Games Harbin 2025 sets an excellent example for the 15th National Games to be jointly held by Hong Kong, Guangdong, and Macao in November this year. Heilongjiang's integration of winter sports with cultural tourism development, along with its full promotion of the ice and snow economy, provides inspiration for Hong Kong's cultural tourism development.
Noting that the Individual Visit Scheme has been extended to include Harbin in Heilongjiang Province, while direct flights between Harbin and Hong Kong have been launched, Mr Lee said that these developments will further foster economic, trade, and cultural exchanges between Heilongjiang and Hong Kong. He welcomed more enterprises and talent from Heilongjiang to organise and participate in various activities in Hong Kong, and he also encouraged more tourists from Heilongjiang to visit Hong Kong to experience its unique charm as a metropolis where East meets West.
Mr Lee said that the Beijing Office and Liaoning Liaison Unit of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to serve as a bridge to promote deeper co-operation between Hong Kong and Heilongjiang in various areas such as sports, economic and trade investment, tourism, education, and youth exchanges, jointly making new and greater contributions to the country's high-quality development.
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