The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, this morning (October 25) concluded her visit to Beijing and departed for Hebei, where she met with the Secretary of the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee and the Governor of Hebei Province and visited the Xiongan New Area.
 
     Mrs Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, met with the Secretary of the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee, Mr Wang Dongfeng, and the Governor of Hebei Province, Mr Xu Qin, in Shijiazhuang in the morning. Noting that this is the opening year of Hong Kong's better integration into the overall development of the nation, she said that the recent commissioning of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge as well as the upcoming opening of the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point lay a solid foundation for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. She said that with the integration of Hong Kong into the overall development of the country, the city will strengthen collaboration with various Mainland provinces and municipalities and hopes to participate in and contribute to the development of the Xiongan New Area. She invited Hebei leaders to visit Hong Kong with a delegation to introduce to Hong Kong enterprises Hebei's advantages and future developments.
 
     After attending a working lunch with Mr Xu, Mrs Lam and the other officials visited the Xiongan New Area affairs service centre and exhibition centre to learn about the present situation of the area and its future planning, transport infrastructure, smart city construction blueprint and cultural conservation. The state-level Xiongan New Area, established last year, is designed to develop as an international city with high-tech industries. Housing higher education and research institutions, medical and health institutions, financial institutions, high-end services and high-tech industries, the area will be developed to relieve Beijing of functions that are not essential to its role as the nation's capital.
 
     Mrs Lam and the other officials then visited Baiyangdian Lake to learn about measures to protect the surrounding ecological environment and the biodiversity of the freshwater lake. Baiyangdian Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the North China Plain and an important part in the development of the Xiongan New Area into an ecological city.
 
     Mrs Lam and the other officials concluded the trip in the afternoon and returned to Hong Kong in the evening.

Ends/Thursday, October 25, 2018
Issued at HKT 19:11

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