A delegation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and senior representatives of the business sector, led by Chief Executive John Lee, arrived in Guangzhou today.
 
Such a mission marks the commencement of a three-day visit to Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
 
The delegation attended the Guangdong-Hong Kong Deepening Economic, Trade & Investment Cooperation Conference, co-organised by the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong SAR Government, this afternoon to exchange views on enhancing economic, trade and investment co-operation, and promoting high-quality development of the GBA.
 
Speaking at the event, Mr Lee said that the conference brought together government officials and representatives of the business sector from Guangdong and Hong Kong to join hands in taking concrete actions to promote the high-quality development of the GBA proactively.
 
He noted that Guangdong and Hong Kong, sharing close geographical ties and the same cultural roots, have been closely interacting and co-operating with each other over the years in different areas including economic and trade investment, tourism and culture, as well as people's living.
 
“Both sides deepen co-operation under the spirit of complementarity and mutual benefits, so as to make greater contributions to the GBA as a strategic fulcrum of the new development pattern of our country, a demonstration zone of high-quality development, and a pioneer of Chinese modernisation.”
 
He encouraged the business sectors in Guangdong and Hong Kong to continue to seize the opportunities to contribute to, and benefit from, the development of the GBA into a world-class bay area.
 
Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki, together with representatives from multiple Hong Kong, foreign and Guangdong enterprises, gave thematic presentations to around 350 business leaders of the bay area to promote the development potential of Hong Kong and Guangdong, as well as the huge market and business opportunities of the GBA.
 
The conference also witnessed the signing of 126 contracts with a total value of RMB$100 billion between the enterprises of the two places.
 
After the conference, Mr Lee and the delegation attended a welcoming dinner hosted by the People's Government of Guangdong Province. They exchanged views on further deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong co-operation to jointly promote the high-quality development of the GBA.
 
In the evening, Mr Lee and the delegation arrived in Foshan and met Secretary of the CPC Foshan Municipal Committee Tang Yifeng.
 
The Chief Executive said that Foshan has a solid foundation in manufacturing with well-established production lines and production chains, while Hong Kong has rich experience in areas including finance, commerce and professional services, as well as research and development capabilities and the advantage of internationalisation.
 
Hong Kong will continue to maintain close co-operation with Foshan to jointly seize the opportunities brought about by GBA development, Mr Lee added.
 
Mr Lee will return to Hong Kong tomorrow morning. Mr Chan will lead the delegation to continue its visit to Foshan, Guangzhou and Dongguan.