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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Frederick Ma, will begin a seven-day visit to the Mainland tomorrow (August 20), covering Beijing, Hangzhou and Hunan.
It will be Mr Ma's first visit to Beijing since he took up his new post of Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development. During his three-day visit to the capital, Mr Ma, together with the Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology), Mrs Rita Lau; the Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Commerce, Industry and Tourism), Miss Yvonne Choi; and senior officials of the bureau, will meet his counterparts at a number of offices, including the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the Ministry of Information Industry, the General Administration of Customs, the General Administration of Press and Publication, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the State Intellectual Property Office, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the State Administration of Taxation, to exchange views on issues of mutual interest.
Mr Ma will also pay courtesy calls to the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Ma will fly to Hangzhou on Thursday morning (August 23) to attend a promotional event and press conference by Invest Hong Kong, "On Your Marks, Get Set, Go – Zhejiang Stop". He will speak on Hong Kong's strategic advantages as the platform for Mainland enterprises to expand regional and global operations.
After attending the event in Hangzhou, Mr Ma will travel to Hunan to join a Hong Kong business delegation for a study tour to Chenzhou. The tour is an effort by the HKSAR government to assist the Hong Kong processing trade in Guangdong relocates their operations.
Mr Ma will return to Hong Kong on August 26.
Ends/Sunday, August 19, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:19
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