The seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) is being held from today to November 10 at the National Exhibition & Convention Center in Shanghai.

Over 300 Hong Kong enterprises are participating in this year's CIIE to promote quality Hong Kong products and services, representing almost one-tenth of the total number of exhibitors at the Enterprise & Business Exhibition.

Chief Executive John Lee led a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government delegation to attend the opening ceremony and relevant events today.

Mr Lee, together with Financial Secretary Paul Chan and Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau attended the opening ceremony of the CIIE and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum this morning.

Mr Lee then accompanied Premier Li Qiang in touring the Hong Kong Exhibition Area at the China Pavilion.

Under the theme of “Connectivity & Opening up”, the Hong Kong Exhibition Area showcases the city's top position in international rankings and leading performance reflected in indicators of various areas; the active efforts in attracting enterprises, investment and talent, and promotes Hong Kong's position as the “eight centres” including an international trade and financial centre, an international innovation and technology centre, and an international maritime centre; as well as the latest developments in new quality productive forces, with a view to promoting Hong Kong's strengths.

In the afternoon, Mr Lee, accompanied by Mr Chan and Mr Yau visited the Hong Kong Product Pavilion and the Hong Kong Service Pavilion set up by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) at the Enterprise & Business Exhibition to show his support to Hong Kong enterprises.

A total of 52 Hong Kong enterprises showcase quality products and services covering food, innovation and technology, professional services, logistics, information technologies, trade and finance at the two pavilions, which occupy an area of 1,500 sq m.

A number of exhibitors are taking part in the CIIE for the first time to show that Hong Kong enterprises are keeping up with the times and actively developing new quality productive forces, such as using artificial intelligence to provide advanced services, combining traditional food with health concepts and building a modern brand image, and demonstrating the city as an ideal springboard for overseas brands to explore the Mainland market. They also tell Hong Kong's good stories through its products and services.

Later, Mr Lee and Mr Chan attended the high-level 2024 Hong Kong Investment Promotion Conference - Shanghai Forum jointly organised by the Hong Kong SAR Government and the HKTDC, and delivered speeches to promote the city's advantages and its role as a connecting platform under the national dual circulation strategy to Mainland enterprises.

Following the successful Hong Kong Investment Promotion Conference held in Beijing in September this year, a number of heavy-weight speakers gathered at the Shanghai Forum under the theme of “Hong Kong, joining hands with Shanghai, the channel for more opportunities”, to share insights on Hong Kong's advantages and opportunities in different areas, attracting more than 500 participants.

Speaking at the Shanghai Forum, Mr Lee said Hong Kong enjoys the advantage of having strong support from the motherland and close connection with the world under “one country, two systems”, playing its roles as a super-connector and super value-adder while driving functions in going global and attracting foreign investment.

Currently, there are over 2,100 enterprises from the Mainland based in Hong Kong, and more than 1,400 Mainland companies listed in Hong Kong, of which nearly 200 are from Shanghai, with a market value exceeding HK$2 trillion. This fully demonstrates that Hong Kong can become a financing and investment platform to serve the development of Shanghai and Mainland enterprises.

Mr Lee added that the new Policy Address has set out a number of reform initiatives aimed at exploring new growth areas for Hong Kong, creating new impetus for economic development. The city benefits from converging both the China advantage and the global advantage under “one country, two systems” and will leverage its strengths to achieve complementarity with Shanghai, fostering mutual benefits and synergistic development.

In addressing the topic “Hong Kong's Advantages” in his speech, Mr Chan highlighted that for Mainland enterprises, Hong Kong holds the unique advantages of being international and practising the common law which can facilitate the expansion of such enterprises' international business.

Using the fundraising market as an example, in addition to its highly internationalised securities and bond markets, Hong Kong boasts a thriving venture capital ecosystem, a full spectrum of funding sources, a good variety of financial products, and a foreign exchange market in which currencies are freely convertible, making it an ideal location for Mainland enterprises to establish corporate treasury centres.

He also emphasised that Hong Kong has a highly developed transport infrastructure that connects conveniently with the world, along with high-quality education and a great quality of life, adding that friends from the Mainland are welcomed to Hong Kong to pursue their dreams.

Executive Vice Director of the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and State Council Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office Zhou Ji, Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng, Vice Minister and Deputy China International Trade Representative of the Ministry of Commerce Ling Ji and Vice Minister of Science & Technology Long Teng also spoke at the event.

Additionally, Invest Hong Kong signed a number of key co-operation projects with Shanghai enterprises.