Xia Baolong (center right), director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, shakes hand with Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (center left) at the Central Government Offices in Admiralty, Hong Kong, on Feb 23, 2024. Accompanying them is Zheng Yanxiong (center), director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

The nation’s top official on Hong Kong and Macao affairs Xia Baolong expressed confidence, provided clear messages about Hong Kong’s future development and has been very accommodative about the city’s proposals, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and lawmakers said after meeting Xia on Friday.

Lee noted that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and representatives of different sectors explained the city’s actual situation in great detail to Xia and members of the study team who accompanied him, and received an enthusiastic response from the team.

Lee said that officials from the central government expressed their satisfaction with Hong Kong’s overall situation and the way that the SAR government is handling it

“The study team is keen to listen to views about what requests we have for the central government so that they will consider it,” Lee said, adding that the extension of the Individual Visit Scheme to include the Chinese mainland cities of Shandong province’s Qingdao and Xi’an in Shaanxi province, as proposed by the SAR government, shows that the central government takes seriously the views and the proposals from Hong Kong.

The program, introduced in 2003 when the city’s economy was devastated by an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), allows people in the cities listed to visit Hong Kong and Macao in their individual capacities and has strengthened the SARs’ economies.

Lee said that officials from the central government expressed their satisfaction with Hong Kong’s overall situation and the way that the SAR government is handling it.

Xia Baolong (center), director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, waves to the media at the Central Government Offices in Admiralty, Hong Kong, on Feb 23, 2024. Accompanying him is Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (left) and Zheng Yanxiong (center back), director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

On the second day of his inspection tour of Hong Kong, Xia, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, exchanged views with some of the city’s lawmakers and Executive Councilors at government headquarters in Admiralty on Friday morning.

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Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Legislative Council House Committee, was among those who attended the meeting with Xia. She said that Xia had once again conveyed the central government’s care and concerns over Hong Kong and had expressed his confidence in the city’s future development.

Lee said that the lawmakers who attended the meeting discussed different topics with Xia, including the economy, the city’s integration into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, patriotic education, the Northern Metropolis development strategy, and the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law.

Lee gave her proposals to Xia on opening up the barracks of the People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison to allow primary and secondary school students to visit during important holidays, enabling them to develop a better understanding of the country’s development during their school years.

Lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, who also attended the meeting, said she felt encouraged by Xia’s visit, and expressed her appreciation for the country’s genuine consideration of the suggestions put forward by the lawmakers.

Xia Baolong (fifth left), director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, is having an engagement session with Principal Officials and Permanent Secretaries of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Feb 22, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVT)

Before meeting with the city’s lawmakers, Xia had a breakfast meeting with members of the Executive Council.

Describing the atmosphere during breakfast as relaxed, ExCo member Stanley Ng Chau-pei said that he felt excited by Xia’s care and support for Hong Kong.

During the breakfast meeting, Ng expressed his hope that the country will introduce a series of favorable policies for Hong Kong, such as allowing residents from more Chinese mainland cities to visit Hong Kong in their individual capacity and raising the duty-free goods quota for mainland visitors returning home.

Accompanied by Liu Guangyuan, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, on Friday afternoon, Xia visited the International Organization for Mediation Preparatory Office, which was founded in 2023 with the support of the central government and aims to carry out preparatory work for the establishment of the International Organization for Mediation. After that, Xia met with some of the city’s entrepreneurs, including Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, chairman of Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong; Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, chairman and managing director of Sun Hung Kai Properties; Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, chairman and director of infrastructure firm Hopewell Holdings.

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Friday marked the second day of Xia’s weeklong tour, which is his second visit to Hong Kong within a year.

Xia was welcomed by Chief Executive Lee at Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday. On the first stop of his tour, Xia went to the Integrated Airport Centre at the airport and learned about the city’s developments in the aviation and cargo industries from the city's officials in the transportation and logistics sector. On Thursday afternoon, Xia met with key SAR government officials and exchanged views on various areas, including the economy, people’s livelihoods, district governance, and legislation related to Article 23 of the Basic Law.

Xia was also accompanied by the new Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Nong Rong, who was appointed on Friday.