Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki (third left) and Standing Committee member, Director of the Organization Department, and Director of the Talent Work Leading Group Office of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee Cheng Fubo (fourth right) co-chair the inaugural meeting of the coordination mechanism on Guangdong-Hong Kong talent cooperation on Jan 8, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERMENT)

Hong Kong and Guangdong province signed a framework agreement on Monday to promote the flow of talent, and set up a co-ordination mechanism in a bid to build a high-caliber talent hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The signing ceremony in Guangzhou, Guangdong’s provincial capital, was attended by Chan Kwok-ki, chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; and Cheng Fubo, member of the Standing Committee and director of the Organization Department, and director of the Talent Work Leading Group Office of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee.

Since October last year, non-Chinese Hong Kong residents are eligible to apply for multiple-entry visas for two years or longer to enter the mainland

The agreement is aimed at promoting the flow of diverse talents in the Greater Bay Area, and open up new chapters in attracting high-end talents to the region.

READ MORE: HK sees talent applications grow almost fourfold to over 200,000

Chan said Hong Kong, as the country’s leading cutting-edge and highly open international city, is well positioned with competitive advantages to serve as an international talent hub and talent gateway for the Greater Bay Area, and attract top-notch talent from around the world.

Highlighting the efforts made by the HKSAR and the Chinese mainland to strengthen talent mobility, Chan said Hong Kong’s implementation of various policy initiatives to lure and retain talent has yielded remarkable results, with more than 220,000 applications having been received under various talent admission schemes by late last year. Among the more than 130,000 applications that had been approved, about 90,000 professionals have arrived in Hong Kong so far.

He said the Top Talent Pass Scheme alone accounted for 65,000 applications, of which more than 50,000 have been given the nod. In February last year, the mainland introduced the exit endorsement for talents program -- a multiple-entry scheme for six categories of talents that allows longer stay and longer validity of their entry permits. More than 10,000 talents have entered Hong Kong through the endorsement scheme.  

Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki (back row, left); and Standing Committee member, Director of the Organization Department, and Director of the Talent Work Leading Group Office of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee Cheng Fubo (back row, right) witness the signing of a framework agreement on promoting Guangdong-Hong Kong talent cooperation by Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han (front row, left), and Director General of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People's Government of Guangdong Province Li Huanchun (front row, right) on Jan 8, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

Chan also noted other recent measures have been taken to attract foreign talents to Hong Kong. Since October last year, non-Chinese Hong Kong residents are eligible to apply for multiple-entry visas for two years or longer to enter the mainland. He said more than 8,000 applications have been approved under the program within two  months, offering great convenience to foreign talents working in Hong Kong-registered companies. These measures have contributed to the overall goal of attracting high-end talents and enterprises to Hong Kong, thereby strengthening its position in the Greater Bay Area.

Chan said Guangdong and Hong Kong have been pursuing high-level co-operation and development at full steam since the full resumption of normal travel between the mainland and the SAR early last year

Chan said he has instructed Hong Kong’s newly-established Hong Kong Talent Engage, which set up its office in October last year, to make full use of the new mechanism to deepen regional talent collaboration in building it into a thriving highland for high-level talent.

He said Guangdong and Hong Kong have been pursuing high-level co-operation and development at full steam since the full resumption of normal travel between the mainland and the SAR early last year.

Under the newly-established talent co-operation mechanism, Chan and Cheng co-chaired the inaugural meeting, with the theme “Building a Talent Hub and Promoting Integrated Development” following the signing ceremony. 

Chan began a three-day visit to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Huizhou on Monday.

READ MORE: Chan: HK to collaborate with GBA cities in talent development

On Monday, he visited the prestigious Guangzhou National Laboratory, where he gained insights into the cutting-edge breakthroughs made in the field of respiratory system diseases and their prevention and control.

He also went to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area High-Performance Medical Device Innovation Center, where he witnessed the center’s achievements in enhancing independent research and development capabilities and industrialization levels of high-precision medical devices.

While meeting with Zhong Nanshan – a leading academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering --  and other local innovators, Chan exchanged views with them on medical and technological innovation cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland.