The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, continued his visit in Beijing today (March 14).

     In the morning, Mr Lee called on the Ministry of Finance and met with the Minister of Finance, Mr Liu Kun, to exchange views on deepening financial and fiscal co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong. The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, and the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, also joined the meeting.

     Mr Liu said that the Ministry of Finance will align with the plans of the Communist Party of China Central Committee to fully support Hong Kong to leverage its unique strengths and promote extensive international co-operation, with a view to better integrating into the overall national development.

     Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Finance for its long-standing support in consolidating Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre and for Hong Kong's integration into the national development of the reform and opening-up of the financial market. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will continue to enhance its market development efforts, ensure the financial stability of Hong Kong, and promote connections between Hong Kong and the global financial system and market.

     Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is committed to developing into a premier issuance destination for regional bonds, including green bonds. The HKSAR Government has been welcoming and encouraging more Mainland institutions to issue green bonds in Hong Kong, and encouraging Mainland provincial and municipal governments and enterprises to make good use of Hong Kong's platform in issuing bonds with the provision of relevant facilitation measures, citing the recent legislative amendments, which will take effect in late March, to extend profits tax exemption to the debt instruments issued in Hong Kong by the local people's governments at various levels on the Mainland.

     In the meeting, Mr Lee said the HKSAR Government will encourage Hong Kong accountants to make greater contributions to integrate into the overall national development. He thanked the Ministry of Finance for the policy support for Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government will engage the industry players to learn more about their expectations and suggestions, in order to facilitate their effective provision of professional services on the Mainland.

     Mr Lee hoped to continue deepening exchanges on tax co-operation with the Mainland, and again thanked the Ministry of Finance for supporting Hong Kong to participate more actively in international tax co-operation.

     Accompanied by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, Mr Lee visited the Palace Museum and met with the Director of the Palace Museum, Dr Wang Xudong, in the afternoon.

     Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the Palace Museum for its strong support given to the development of the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) by providing precious cultural artefacts for long-term display and jointly planning exhibitions with the HKPM. Since its opening last year, the HKPM has soon become a new cultural landmark of Hong Kong and also a must-visit attraction for tourists.

     Mr Lee said he was pleased to note that the West Kowloon Cultural District and the HKPM would continue to deliberate on the direction of future partnerships with the Palace Museum on such projects as exhibitions, youth education, international exchanges and co-operation, and training of professional talents. He looked forward to the Palace Museum's utilisation of Hong Kong's platform as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange to better tell China's stories and make China's voice heard.

     Mr Lee will continue his visit in Beijing tomorrow (March 15) and call on different central ministries and institutions.

Ends/Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Issued at HKT 19:16

NNNN