Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today led a delegation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and business sector representatives on the second day of a visit to Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

In the morning, the delegation attended the Foshan-Hong Kong Economic & Trade Cooperation Conference to learn about the latest development of Foshan and exchange views on further promoting co-operation between Hong Kong and Foshan.

Mr Chan said that Hong Kong and Foshan could enhance co-ordination and complementary development in various aspects to achieve mutual benefits.

He noted that Foshan has a solid foundation in manufacturing, and enjoys the advantage of a complete industry chain, while Hong Kong has abundant experience in commerce and trade, logistics and management, adding that collaboration between the two cities will definitely enhance interfacing of industries, promote efficient flow of various factors, and further promote the synergistic development of the GBA.

The delegation later arrived in Guangzhou and visited the Guangzhou Development Zone Planning Exhibition Hall to learn more about the overall planning, latest situation and future development of Guangzhou, as well as attended a welcome luncheon.

Mr Chan pointed out that Hong Kong and Guangzhou are both core cities of the GBA and shoulder the responsibilities as core engines for regional development, and the high-level collaboration between them will play a key role in promoting the development of the GBA. He also said he looked forward to more innovative policy breakthroughs with closer collaboration between the two cities which shall elevate the development of the GBA to greater heights.

Arriving in Dongguan in the afternoon, Mr Chan and the delegation visited the exhibition centre of Dongguan Binhaiwan New District to learn more about Dongguan's planning and latest developments, including its focus on building a base for developing emerging industries and a centre for transformation of research and development outcomes in the GBA.

The delegation then toured an intelligent manufacturing facility where they were briefed by a company representative on the facility's latest developments.

In the evening, the delegation attended the Dongguan-Hong Kong Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference to exchange views on further promoting Hong Kong-Dongguan ties, and met CPC Dongguan Municipal Committee Secretary Wei Hao.

Mr Chan said that Dongguan has always been a close partner of Hong Kong in the trade and maritime industries. He noted that in recent years, Dongguan has been vigorously developing new pillar industries, attracting large-scale science and technology enterprises, as well as striving to optimise the innovation and technology environment, and the remarkable results of the large-scale area development approach in Dongguan have provided a very good example for the development of industries in Hong Kong.

The Chief Secretary will lead the delegation to Huizhou and Shenzhen tomorrow for the last leg of their visit.