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The Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, will attend the High Level Consultation of the Joint Steering Committee under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in Beijing on August 27 (Friday).

Jointly chaired by the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, Mr An Min, and Mr Tang, the meeting delegates will discuss further liberalisation measures on trade in goods and services under the second phase of CEPA.

A press conference will be held at the Ministry of Commerce after the meeting to announce the details.

A spokesman for the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau said that CEPA adopted a building block approach and provided a mechanism for further liberalisation measures. Both Hong Kong and the Mainland have agreed that the content of CEPA would be broadened and enriched through continuous discussions.

"Since the full implementation of CEPA on January 1, 2004, the two sides have held a series of high level and senior official meetings with a view to broadening the scope of CEPA," the spokesman said.

Ends/Wednesday, August 25, 2004

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