Hong Kong Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau: Pragmatic Promotion of Bay Area Interconnection Construction and Enhancement of Close Cooperation between Hong Kong and Provinces and Cities.

On February 13th, with regards to the policies and measures promoting the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and regional cooperation with the mainland, the Acting Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of Hong Kong, Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, stated that Hong Kong will continuously deepen its cooperation with other provinces and cities in the mainland. They will explore more cooperation platforms with provinces and cities that have development potential and cooperation space, and continue to strengthen close collaboration with various provinces and cities in a pragmatic and step-by-step manner, aiming for complementary advantages, mutual benefits, and better integration and service to the national development. He mentioned that with the strong support from the central government, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has been closely cooperating with other cities in the Greater Bay Area, continuously promoting high-level interconnection and market integration between cities in the Bay Area. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government actively maintains close ties with relevant central ministries, the Guangdong provincial government, and the Macao SAR government, continuously deepening the alignment of rules and mechanisms among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, facilitating the efficient flow of important production factors such as people, goods, funds, and information within the region. They strive for more policy breakthroughs that benefit Hong Kong residents, promote the integration and development of the Bay Area, consolidate and enhance the role of the Greater Bay Area in high-quality development, and help the country further deepen reform and open up at a high level. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will also fully leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages as a city backed by the motherland and connected to the world under the principle of "one country, two systems." They will reinforce and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international financial, shipping, and trade center, as well as a platform for "going global." They will actively promote the significant opportunities of the Greater Bay Area construction to various sectors in Hong Kong, the mainland, and overseas, playing the important role of a "super connector" and "super value-added person," fully utilizing the dual role of Hong Kong as an inward and outward platform. Furthermore, through external visits, traditional media, online platforms such as the Greater Bay Area special website, Bay Area office newsletters, physical events like seminars, exhibitions, etc., Hong Kong will promote the vast opportunities of the Greater Bay Area construction to the local, mainland, and overseas sectors. In terms of regional cooperation with the mainland, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has established close cooperation with various provinces and autonomous regions at different levels, whether through comprehensive, multi-field, and deep cooperation mechanisms, or specific cooperative projects for mutual development to seek broader development space for Hong Kong and move towards better serving the country's needs. In terms of cooperation mechanisms, the current government has been actively following up and strengthening cooperation with provinces and cities under cooperation mechanisms, setting up the Chongqing-Hong Kong Cooperation Conference Mechanism and the Zhejiang-Hong Kong Cooperation Conference Mechanism. Currently, Hong Kong has established cooperation mechanisms with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong (including Shenzhen), Zhejiang, Fujian, Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan. In addition to holding the inaugural meetings of the Chongqing-Hong Kong Cooperation and Zhejiang-Hong Kong Cooperation, conferences have also been held in Hong Kong for Fujian-Hong Kong Cooperation, Beijing-Hong Kong Cooperation, and Shanghai-Hong Kong Cooperation. Collaborative projects between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and other provinces and autonomous regions in the mainland are both deep and broad, covering various areas such as finance, logistics, trade, innovation and technology, law, education, youth development, and tourism.