CE meets Mayor of Chongqing and Governor of Hubei Province (with photos)
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At her meeting with Mr Tang in the afternoon, Mrs Lam welcomed Mr Tang and his delegation for visiting Hong Kong for the first time after his assumption of office as Mayor of Chongqing to attend the Chongqing Hong Kong Symposium earlier in the morning. She said that Hong Kong and Chongqing have always been close and she was pleased to note that some Memorandums of Understanding and project agreements were signed between the relevant parties of Hong Kong and Chongqing during Mr Tang's stay in Hong Kong to further enhance co-operation between the two places.
Mrs Lam said that the National 13th Five-Year Plan supports Hong Kong to consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial, transportation and trade centre, and develop the innovation and technology (I&T) industry and establish itself as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. She invited enterprises from Chongqing to "go global" by leveraging Hong Kong's core advantages in fields including finance, commerce and trade, logistics, management, and legal and professional services to jointly explore the international market. She said Hong Kong has devoted more resources to scientific research and expressed the hope that Hong Kong and Chongqing will further explore co-operation in I&T. Expressing great interest in the development of the southern transport corridor and sea-rail intermodal transportation by Chongqing, she said she hopes the port and logistics sector in Hong Kong would be able to take part in it.
In the evening, Mrs Lam met with the Governor of Hubei Province, Mr Wang Xiaodong. She welcomed Mr Wang for visiting Hong Kong again to attend an event promoting Hubei-Hong Kong economic and trade co-operation today, following his first visit to Hong Kong and their meeting last year. She noted that the event has been held in Hong Kong for 17 years consecutively, indicating the close relationship between the two places.
Mrs Lam said that the Economic and Trade Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Wuhan (WHETO) was set up in 2014. She thanked the Hubei Government for its staunch support for WHETO’s work, enabling it to fully discharge it duties to promote co-operation between Hubei and Hong Kong. She said that with the commissioning of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link in about three weeks, Hong Kong people will be able to reach 44 destinations in the Mainland, including Wuhan, in direct trains. The journey between Hong Kong and Wuhan will only take about four hours, enhancing ties between the two places and bringing greater convenience to those who do business and study and even retirees. She added that Hong Kong is committed to advancing I&T development and that with Wuhan's I&T talents, the two places can strengthen co-operation and exchanges in the area.
Mrs Lam said at both meetings that the relevant Central ministries are rolling out measures to facilitate Hong Kong residents to live, work and study in the Mainland, and they announced last month that Hong Kong residents living in the Mainland who meet the relevant criteria can apply for residence permits. She expressed the hope that Chongqing and Hubei would continue their support in the implementation of the relevant measures.
Ends/Monday, September 3, 2018
Issued at HKT 23:44
Issued at HKT 23:44
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