CE meets Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium (with photo)
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Mr Lee welcomed Mr Prévot and his delegation to Hong Kong. He said that Belgium is one of Hong Kong's major trading partners in the European Union, with a number of Belgian companies that have set up business operations in Hong Kong. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Consulate General of Belgium in Hong Kong, reflecting the frequent exchanges and co-operation between the two places. As an international trade centre, Hong Kong ranks No. 1 in the world in economic freedom and is the world's fifth-largest trading entity in merchandise trade. He expressed confidence that both sides will further strengthen co-operation in areas such as economic and trade investment, innovation and technology (I&T), and people-to-people exchanges, to pursue broader collaboration.
Mr Lee said that Hong Kong, which firmly supports and upholds free trade and multilateralism, will continue to deepen international exchanges and co-operation, and expand its global trade network. Hong Kong serves as an important bridge connecting China and the world, and enjoys the unique advantages of having the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the "one country, two systems" principle. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has established the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global and the Economic and Trade Express service platform, among other initiatives, to continue to play its roles as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder", to assist quality enterprises in going global and bringing in international capital. He welcomed overseas enterprises, including those from Belgium, to leverage Hong Kong's professional and high value-added services, highly market-oriented business environment and low and simple tax regime, use Hong Kong as a platform to go global and tap into the Mainland and Asian markets, thereby jointly promoting global economic development.
Mr Lee said that the Northern Metropolis (NM) is a new engine for Hong Kong's future economic development, and the National 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly supports accelerating the development of the NM. Hong Kong is building itself into an international I&T centre and is expediting processes and improving efficiency with the development of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (Hetao Hong Kong Park), to promote the full integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and attract high-end corporations from the Mainland and around the world to Hong Kong. He encouraged Belgian I&T enterprises to set up in the NM and the Hetao Hong Kong Park, bringing in frontier technologies, talent and industrial chains, and leveraging Hong Kong's robust research and development capabilities and vibrant I&T ecosystem to jointly seize development opportunities in the new round of the technological revolution.
Ends/Monday, April 27, 2026
Issued at HKT 19:00
Issued at HKT 19:00
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