President Xi Jinping and the Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr Han Zheng, met the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Hong Kong delegation led by her in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up of the country in Beijing today (November 12).
 
     In the morning, President Xi met Mrs Lam; 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; the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; and other members of the delegation at the Great Hall of the People and delivered an important address.
 
     In her speech, Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude to President Xi for meeting the delegation and for his concern and support for Hong Kong and the importance he attached to the city. She said that the delegation comprised members of various sectors of the community who had leveraged their own strengths to meet the country's needs during the past 40 years, contributing to the reform and opening up and at the same time bringing benefits to themselves. She said that as the doors of the country's reform and opening up will be opened wider and wider, Hong Kong's role as the gateway and the hub connecting to the world will become even more prominent and the city's advantages under "one country, two systems" will be even more notable. Hong Kong should proactively participate in the country's overall development and seek opportunities for more development and advancement through the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, she said.
 
     Mrs Lam and members of the delegation then attended a lunch hosted by Mr Han. They concluded the visit in the afternoon and returned to Hong Kong.

Ends/Monday, November 12, 2018
Issued at HKT 16:47

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