The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, led a delegation comprising over 160 members to visit Shenzhen today (November 10) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up of the country. They visited the Shenzhen Reform and Opening-up Exhibition Hall as well as the Qianhai Exhibition Hall and the Qianhai Stone Park.

     The delegation comprises members of various sectors of the community who have made profound contributions to the reform and opening up of the country and to Hong Kong, with the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr Wang Zhimin, as the advisor. The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, also joined the visit.

     In the morning, Mrs Lam and members of the delegation departed for the Shenzhen Reform and Opening-up Exhibition Hall by land transport to view the "Great Tides Surge Along the Pearl River – 40 Years of Reform and Opening-up in Guangdong" exhibition to learn the rise of Shenzhen and the development of its surrounding areas as well as the history, remarkable achievements and valuable experiences of Guangdong's reform and opening up.

     Mrs Lam and members of the delegation then attended a lunch hosted by the Shenzhen Municipal Government. In her speech at the lunch, she said that Hong Kong and Shenzhen have been in close co-operation in the past 40 years at various levels and in different areas covering commerce, investment, trade, logistics, professional services, arts and culture and youth development. She added that Hong Kong, which is still the largest source of external investment in Shenzhen and has close to 60 000 enterprises there, has been making significant contributions to the development of Shenzhen. She expressed the hope that Hong Kong and Shenzhen will further enhance collaboration in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the establishment of the international innovation and technology centre and complement each other, taking their co-operation to new heights.

     Later, Mrs Lam and members of the delegation visited the Qianhai Exhibition Hall to understand Qianhai's past development and future planning. They also paid a visit to the Qianhai Stone Park where President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech in 2012 calling for the continuation of reform and opening up, and he visited it to see the changes in the development of Qianhai during his inspection tour in Qianhai in October this year.

     Mrs Lam and members of the delegation departed Shenzhen in the afternoon and will start their visit to Beijing tomorrow (November 11).

Ends/Saturday, November 10, 2018
Issued at HKT 19:21

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