Tag Archives: China

The following is issued on behalf of the Executive Council Secretariat:

     Non-official Members of the Executive Council (ExCo Non-official Members) visited Kai Tak Sports Park today (February 13) to tour various venues and facilities in the park.

     ExCo Non-official Members accompanied by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law; the Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ms Vivian Sum; and the Commissioner for Sports, Mr George Tsoi, were briefed by the staff on the design and planning of the Kai Tak Sports Park. 

     ExCo Non-official Members toured the Kai Tak Stadium which could accommodate 50 000 spectators. They learned about facilities such as the retractable roof, and the flexible pitch surface, customisable staging and seating configurations that can be adapted based on the scale and nature of events. They also visited other venues, including the Central Square, the Kai Tak Arena and the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground.

     ExCo Non-official Members commended on the comprehensive facilities of the Kai Tak Sports Park, which is the largest sports infrastructure project in Hong Kong’s history and can host international sports and entertainment mega events. Apart from the three major venues, the Sports Park also features various retail, catering as well as leisure and entertainment facilities. They hoped that after the opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong will host more large-scale international events, attracting more tourists from around the globe and further promoting Hong Kong as an events capital and a popular destination for global travelers. This would further expand the mega event economy and strengthen impetus for economic growth in Hong Kong.

     ExCo Non-official Members were pleased to learn that relevant government departments and the Kai Tak Sports Park are preparing for the official opening in full steam. They wished for a successful opening ceremony.

     Joining the visit were ExCo Non-official Members Professor Arthur Li, Mr Ronny Tong, Dr Moses Cheng, Mrs Margaret Leung, Mr Chan Kin-por and Mr Stanley Ng.

        

     The Transport Department (TD) today (February 13) alerted members of the public to fraudulent SMS messages purported to be issued by the HKeToll and provided a hyperlink with the domain name (http[:]//hketoll.taobaocainiao… read more

     The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, visited Hengqin and Zhuhai today (February 13). The Commissioner for Industry (Innovation and Technology), Dr Ge Ming, also joined the visit.

     Professor Sun first visited the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. His visit was aimed to speed up the implementation of the development planning of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone in accordance with the spirit of the important instructions given by the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, when he inspected the Hong Kong Park. Professor Sun had an engagement session with Deputy Secretary of the Hengqin Working Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Director of the Hengqin Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province and Deputy Director of the Executive Committee, Mr Nie Xinping. During the session, Professor Sun learned about the in-depth planning and industry development of the Cooperation Zone, taking into account the development of the Hong Kong Park.

     Professor Sun said, “Drawing on the experience of the Cooperation Zone, we have made it clearer of the special strategic positioning of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone as a demonstration zone for reform and innovation in the country. We should leverage the advantages of ‘two systems’, give full play to the uniqueness of the ‘Special Administrative Region within the Special Administrative Region’, seek institution and policy innovations, and break new ground, so as to expedite the realisation of the development objectives set out in the two five-year plans of the Hong Kong Park.” 

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government is now studying the proposals on specific measures to facilitate the cross-boundary flow of innovation elements including personnel, materials, capital and data in the Hetao Hong Kong Park. In this connection, Professor Sun visited the Zhuhai MUST Science and Technology Research Institute in the Cooperation Zone, which is an industry-academia-research demonstration base built by the Macau University of Science and Technology in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, to learn more about the institute’s work in promoting cross-boundary flow of data in the zone.

     Professor Sun met with the Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of China Zhuhai Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor of the Zhuhai Municipal Government, Mr Wu Zetong, and Vice Mayor of Zhuhai Mr Huang Zhenqiu, and introduced the HKSAR Government’s latest policies on leading the city’s innovation and technology (I&T) development and the current developments. Professor Sun also learned about Zhuhai’s achievements in I&T and high-tech industrialisation. Both sides exchanged views on promoting I&T collaboration and exchanges between the two places.

     In the afternoon, Professor Sun visited the cell production workshops of the Zhuhai SoleFiori Technology Company and learned about the technologies and productivity of new high-efficiency heterojunction solar cells and modules with low energy consumption and low carbon emissions. Professor Sun welcomed the enterprise’s plan to expand its business in Hong Kong. 

     Professor Sun then visited the headquarters of Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai. He was briefed on the latest developments in quality assurance, product innovations and talent training of the technology-based household consumer goods and industrial equipment manufacturing group. He also visited the industrial products display zone at the Group’s technology exhibition hall, where he learned about the self-developed industrial robots, computer numerical control machine tools, and smart warehousing products and systems.

     Professor Sun concluded his visit and returned to Hong Kong in the evening.

                

     Following is the speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, at the HKGCC Chinese New Year Dinner 2025 today (February 13):
 
Agnes (Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Ms Agnes Chan), Commissioner Pan Yundong (Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)), Deputy Director-General Zhou Qiang (Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Department and Head of the Commercial Office of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government (LOCPG) in the HKSAR), Deputy Director-General Xu Xiaolin (Deputy Director-General of the Coordination Department of the LOCPG in the HKSAR), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good evening. It gives me great pleasure to join you all tonight. This festive occasion gives us a time to reflect on the past year and look forward with hope to the new one.
 
     In 2024, Hong Kong demonstrated to the world our resilience in times of uncertainties. Our city is ranked as the world’s third-largest financial centre, the world’s freest economy, and is at the fifth place in the global competitiveness ranking. We now have nearly 10 000 companies from the Mainland and overseas, as well as 4 700 start-ups. Both numbers are the highest that we have ever seen. These are signs of confidence in Hong Kong’s status as a prime business destination.
 
     But challenges will keep coming. In addition to conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, we also need to brace the rapid changes in the operating environment. The United States (US)’ imposition of tariffs will affect many economies and companies. On this, the HKSAR Government strongly disapproves. It rattles the fundamentals of a rule-based multilateral trade system, which took the whole world decades to build. As far as the tariffs on Hong Kong are concerned, we have decided to file a complaint to the World Trade Organization. We have always been a staunch supporter of free trade, and we will continue to hold tight to our beliefs.
 
     Risk management is key to a successful business. I am sure many of you saw the uncertainties coming from years ago. I was told that a lot of companies have already modified their business plans, the supply chains, asset distributions, etc, in anticipation of the changing external environment. I encourage you to continue to do the same.
 
     For Hong Kong, this term of Government attaches a lot of importance to exploring new markets. The US and Europe are traditionally among our largest trading partners, and they will probably continue to be so. We are happy with the businesses that we do with each other, which are mutually beneficial. But more importantly, we must not lose sight of the business potential in other markets. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), for example, if taken as a bloc, is now Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partners. Other emerging regions, such as the Middle East, are also catching up fast.
 
     In the past two years or so, we have led business delegations to ASEAN and the Middle East. We will continue to do so in the coming year. We will also step up our efforts to forge new trade and investment agreements with rising trading partners. Increasing our trade and investment with new markets will inject new impetus into Hong Kong’s economy. It will also help us mitigate the risks arising from geopolitics.
 
     Looking closer to home, we spare no efforts to drive changes to our economic structure. The Government sees the need to develop silver economy. The growing elderly population in Hong Kong is becoming an important consumer group, creating considerable demand for such products and services as medical and healthcare, leisure and recreation, and home and personal care catered for the elderly. These products and services also enhance the quality of life for the elderly of Hong Kong, which is equally important for us.
 
     We also encourage Hong Kong companies to embrace electronic commerce (e-commerce). This is a global trend in consumption pattern that is irreversible. To help our small and medium enterprises to upgrade their business models, we launched the “E-commerce Easy” under the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales last year to provide funding support. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the HKTDC, also organised the first Hong Kong Shopping Festival to showcase consumer products and brands on Mainland e-commerce platforms. The Festival was a huge success. We will organise the second edition this year. The HKTDC will also step up efforts in providing advisory support to enterprises in need when exploring the e-commerce market.
 
     I spent all my life in Hong Kong. In my entire career, I witnessed Hong Kong going through ups and downs. The world today is so different than the world I was in when I was in my twenties. One of Hong Kong’s biggest appeal is the “can-do” spirit of Hong Kong people. We are flexible, adaptive, determined, forward-looking, and we fight hard. We will rise above the challenges and come out on top.
 
     I would like to thank the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce for all the good you do to our business community. As we enter the Year of the Snake, let us draw inspiration from its attributes of versatility, intelligence and agility, and work together to build a better future for Hong Kong. I wish you all a year with good health, success and happiness. Thank you. read more

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, led a delegation to attend the second meeting of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Financial Co-operation Committee (Committee) in Qianhai, Shenzhen, today (February 13). The meeting echoed the aspirations expressed by the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, during the discussion session he hosted on Sunday (February 9) for more reciprocal co-operation and collaborative development within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
 
     The meeting was co-chaired by Mr Hui and the Vice-Mayor of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government and Director General of the Office of the Financial Affairs Committee of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, Mr Luo Huanghao.  The Committee discussed the latest developments of the financial markets and financial co-operation initiatives of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It also explored suggestions on further enhancing the development of a collaborative market.
 
     On collaborations in terms of financial professional services and talent, Mr Hui announced a list of Hong Kong accounting firms capable of supporting Mainland enterprises in “going global”, and expressed his hope that Hong Kong’s high-quality and international professional services could facilitate the high-level opening of the country’s financial markets. The Committee also arranged an experience-sharing session by two Hong Kong students who participated in the GBA Fintech Two-way Internship Scheme for Post-secondary Students to encourage the industry to provide more opportunities for young people from Shenzhen and Hong Kong to foster talent exchanges in the financial realm.
 
     Mr Hui said that Hong Kong and Shenzhen were both core cities and key engines for driving the development of the GBA. It is anticipated that Hong Kong will continue its close collaboration with Shenzhen for co-ordinated development. As Mr Hui said at the discussion session hosted by Director Xia, the further strengthening of co-operation between Hong Kong and the GBA in the areas of financial markets and services would better reinforce national development strategies, thereby contributing to the nation’s development into a financial powerhouse and creating more development opportunities for Hong Kong and the GBA.
 
     Mr Luo said, “The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Financial Co-operation Committee is an important platform for implementing the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and reinforcing Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre.  Moving forward, favourable policies and connectivity of the financial infrastructure will act as key pillars and help provide breakthroughs for the continuous enhancement to the connectivity of Shenzhen-Hong Kong financial infrastructure.  We will work in co-ordination with Hong Kong in providing financial services for enterprises to “go global”, supporting the efficient flow of capital, credit and data across the boundary.”
 
     Established in June 2024, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Financial Co-operation Committee brings together official members from the Central Authorities, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, as well as industry leaders in both places as non-official members to provide insights on Shenzhen-Hong Kong financial co-operation and the development of the GBA’s financial infrastructure. The first meeting was held in mid-June last year in Hong Kong.