Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu vowed to deepen collaboration with Guangdong province and leverage Hong Kong’s strengths to drive high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Lee led a delegation on Friday to the 24th Plenary of the Hong Kong / Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. The delegation met with local officials led by Guangdong Governor Wang Weizhong. The Joint Conference, established in 1998, has served as a crucial platform for high-level discussions between Hong Kong and Guangdong, addressing a range of collaborative efforts.

Lee said that the central government’s annual work report released in March has clearly supported the GBA to emerge as a driver of high-quality development, and the HKSAR is ready to engage in the accelerated phase of the GBA’s development

The Joint Conference, established in 1998, has served as a crucial platform for high-level discussions between Hong Kong and Guangdong, addressing a range of collaborative efforts.

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This year, the two places focused on realizing the GBA’s new strategic positioning, especially through enhanced cooperation in fields such as innovation and technology, finance, healthcare, cross-boundary transport, and trade.

The event saw the signing of six cooperation agreements, covering sectors of law and justice, quality certification, food safety, agricultural technology, cross-border insurance, and healthcare.

Addressing the conference, Lee said that Guangdong has always been Hong Kong’s most important partner across the Chinese mainland.

The two places have a multidisciplinary, in-depth, and all-around cooperative relationship. Over the past year, increased exchange visits at different levels and various policy initiatives have promoted connectivity within the GBA and yielded fruitful achievements, he said.

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For example, during Wang’s March visit to Hong Kong, the governor met with Lee to exchange views on furthering cooperation across various sectors.

Lee said that the central government’s annual work report released in March has clearly supported the GBA to emerge as a driver of high-quality development, and the HKSAR is ready to engage in the accelerated phase of the GBA’s development.

Following his inauguration in 2022, Lee established a steering group focused on Hong Kong’s integration into national development and making a greater contribution to the process.

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The group is actively formulating plans to streamline the flow of people, goods, capital, and information within the GBA to accomplish its mission, Lee said.

He also shared with his mainland counterparts Hong Kong’s recent legislative advancements, notably the enactment of the local security ordinance to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law, thereby fortifying national security and propelling economic revitalization.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com