The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met with the Governor of Anhui Province, Mr Wang Qingxian, at Government House today (April 20) to exchange views on deepening co-operation between Anhui and Hong Kong. The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Miss Janice Tse Siu-wa; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip, also attended the meeting.
 
　　Mr Lee welcomed Mr Wang and his delegation to Hong Kong for a conference promoting innovation co-operation between Anhui and Hong Kong. He said that this year marks the opening year of the National 15th Five-Year Plan which emphasises promoting co-ordinated regional development, and consolidating and enhancing the roles of the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as driving forces. Anhui is an important engine for the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Delta Region, and Hong Kong is a core city and key driving engine of the GBA. The two places enjoy close cultural and business ties, and maintain close co-operation. He expressed confidence that the two places will continue to deepen co-operation, promote the Yangtze River Delta and the GBA as world-class city clusters, and jointly seize the new opportunities brought by the National 15th Five-Year Plan.
 
　　Mr Lee said that Hong Kong has long been Anhui's largest source of external investment, and the two places enjoy close economic and trade ties. Hong Kong is ranked No. 1 in the world in economic freedom, and enjoys the unique advantage of having both national and international opportunities present simultaneously in the same city under the "one country, two systems" principle, playing its roles as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder". The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has established the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global (GoGlobal Task Force). Through its cross-sector professional services platform, the GoGlobal Task Force serves Mainland enterprises in "going global" and attracts international capital to Hong Kong, firmly advancing high-quality economic development. He welcomed more Mainland enterprises, including those from Anhui, to make good use of Hong Kong's highly internationalised market and high value-added professional services to enhance their business competitiveness, and to use Hong Kong as a springboard to expand into global markets for shared development.
 
　　Mr Lee said that Anhui has experienced rapid economic development, with active efforts to foster emerging industries such as the digital economy and AI. Hong Kong is actively advancing the preparation of its first five-year plan, and is making every effort to build an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre and an international hub for high-calibre talent, thereby opening up a new chapter of high-quality development and better integrating into and serving the country's overall development. Hong Kong will further expand co-operation with Anhui in cutting-edge I&T fields and promote the development of the I&T sectors in both places to jointly drive the development of new quality productive forces and contribute to building a technologically advanced nation. The two places will also advance deeper and broader co-operation in areas such as finance, economics and trade, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges to achieve complementary strengths and mutual benefits for win-win outcomes.

Ends/Monday, April 20, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:00

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