Hong Kong's Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki (back row, second right) and Mayor of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, Qin Weizhong, (back row, second left) witness the signing of a supplementary agreement to further deepen cooperation among the Shenzhen Municipal Government, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, in Hong Kong on Feb 22, 2023. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
HONG KONG – Top officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen met in Hong Kong on Wednesday and set out directions for enhancing cooperation in the coming year.
The Hong Kong/Shenzhen Cooperation Meeting 2023, co-chaired by Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki, and Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong, reviewed the achievements made since the last Hong Kong/Shenzhen Co-operation Meeting.
The officials focused on further deepening their collaboration to foster development in various key areas including the Northern Metropolis development strategy, innovation and technology, mutual access of financial markets, and youth innovation and entrepreneurship.
“Hong Kong and Shenzhen will continue to pursue higher-level, deeper and broader collaboration to achieve more integrated development, with a view to jointly making greater contributions to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and of the country," said Chan.
Northern Metropolis development
The new foothold for Hong Kong's strategic development in the future, the Northern Metropolis would help boost the SAR’s development momentum, facilitate economic cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland cities of the Bay Area, especially Shenzhen, and create higher-quality living space for citizens, officials said.
The first meeting of the Task Force for Collaboration on the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy – set up by the HKSAR government under the Hong Kong/Guangdong and Hong Kong/Shenzhen co-operation mechanisms to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between the two places – will be held in Shenzhen shortly.
Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki (third right), and Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong (fourth left) co-chair the 2023 Hong Kong/Shenzhen Cooperation Meeting in Hong Kong on Feb 22, 2023. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
Innovation and technology
Hong Kong and Shenzhen are working together to promote the development of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Cooperation Zone formed by the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (HSITP) at the Lok Ma Chau Loop and the Shenzhen I&T Zone, to exploring the trial implementation of cross-boundary I&T policy, covering the flow of materials, capital, data and personnel between the two places, premised on the basis of "one zone, two parks".
Construction of batch 1 buildings of the HSITP will be completed progressively in phases from the end of 2024 onwards, the meeting was told.
Regarding the latest planning and market development in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the HKSAR government is studying how to optimize HSITP development. The Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation has set up the "GBA InnoAcademy" and "GBA InnoExpress" in July last year.
Located in Shenzhen’s Futian district, "the Shenzhen branch of the Hong Kong Science Park" is expected to commence operation in the first half of this year. Institutes and enterprises interested in seeking opportunities in the GBA may first start their businesses in the Shenzhen I&T Zone.
Financial services
The HKSAR and Shenzhen governments will continue to explore the implementation of measures on financial cooperation, including proposals to further expand the mutual market access schemes and putting into effect enhancement arrangements, establishing insurance after-sales service centers by the Hong Kong insurance industry in the GBA areas such as Qianhai of Shenzhen, facilitating cross-boundary financial technology applications and nurturing fintech talents, and strengthening co-operation on green and sustainable finance.
The SAR government welcomes the Shenzhen Municipal Government to continue to issue offshore Renminbi bonds in Hong Kong and leverage the city as its premier financing platform.
To further encourage the youth to grasp the opportunities arising from the development of financial services in the Bay Area, the two governments signed the Letter of Intent on Hong Kong-Shenzhen Financial Institutions Youth Internship Programme after the meeting.
Education
The Shenzhen Municipal Government, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen signed a supplementary agreement to further deepen cooperation in areas such as expanding the scale of the CUHK(SZ) and launching scientific research.
The CUHK(SZ) and the University of Hong Kong's Shenzhen campus, which is under active planning, will help develop both Hong Kong and Shenzhen into talent pools in the GBA.
On vocational and professional education and training, the first mainland office of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) in Shenzhen will open in March this year.