Chief Executive John Lee met Secretary of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee Guo Yonghang at Government House today to discuss deepening Hong Kong’s co-operation with Guangzhou.

Welcoming Mr Guo and his delegation to Hong Kong, Mr Lee outlined that Hong Kong and Guangzhou are both core cities of the Greater Bay Area and have maintained co-operation in various sectors over the years.

Mr Lee also highlighted that the 15th National Games, due to be held later this year, will be co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, adding that this will be the first time the GBA has hosted the country’s most significant multisport games.

He said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will dedicate its fullest efforts to co-hosting a successful National Games, adhering to the “simple, safe and wonderful” principle.

The Chief Executive remarked that in the Global Innovation Index 2024, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou science and technology cluster was ranked second globally for a fifth consecutive year, adding that this demonstrates that the three places are embracing the potential of innovation and technology (I&T) development and establishing the GBA as a global leader in I&T.

Mr Lee also mentioned that the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (Guangzhou), established in Nansha, welcomed its first cohort of undergraduate students in the 2023/24 academic year. He said the university is cultivating talent in such areas as artificial intelligence and data science, and will foster the joint creation of a major I&T platform spanning Hong Kong and Guangzhou, thereby contributing to the establishment of China as a strong country in science and technology.

Stressing that Hong Kong will continue to promote the integrated development of the GBA, Mr Lee said the city will seek to leverage complementary advantages with Guangzhou and foster high-level collaboration with it to promote high-quality development in the bay area, thereby contributing to the country’s reform, opening up and rejuvenation.