Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (left) meets with Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee Li Xi in Guangzhou, Nov 7, 2020. (PHOTO/HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG - Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor met with leaders of Guangdong province and Shenzhen on Saturday to discuss ways to jointly take forward the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development and further cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

During the meeting with Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China Li Xi and Governor of Guangdong province Ma Xingrui, Lam expressed gratitude to the province for the long-standing support for Hong Kong during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Carrie Lam expressed the hope that cross-boundary travel could resume gradually and orderly for the people of Guangdong and Hong Kong when the SAR further brings the epidemic under control

The Guangdong authorities have helped the city implement anti-epidemic measures at border control points. Majority of the members of the support teams who came to Hong Kong to help with testing in the Universal Community Testing Programme in September were also from Guangdong. 

Lam expressed the hope that cross-boundary travel with exemption of quarantine could resume gradually and orderly for the people of Guangdong and Hong Kong when the SAR further brings the epidemic under control.

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Lam said that she is confident of the prospects of Guangdong-Hong Kong cooperation down the road, in particular the Bay Area development, given the unique advantages of Hong Kong and the cooperation foundation built over the years between the two places. She expressed the hope that the two governments will work together to contribute to the development of the nation and the Bay Area.

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (left) meets with Secretary of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee Wang Weizhong in Shenzhen, Nov 7, 2020. (PHOTO/HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

Lam met with the Secretary of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee Wang Weizhong and Shenzhen Mayor Chen Rugui in the afternoon. 

Pointing out that Hong Kong made contributions in the course of developments of Shenzhen in the past and was also the beneficiary, Lam said she believes that the close and mutually beneficial relationship can be further strengthened in the future. 

Secretary of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee Wang Weizhong pledged to offer full support for Hong Kong to integrate into the nation's development

She said the HKSAR government is studying policy initiatives recently promulgated by the country on the development of Shenzhen in order to explore further room for collaboration in such areas as promoting innovation and technology, attracting talent and improving people's livelihoods. 

Pointing out that the Ministry of Science and Technology has expressed staunch support for Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation on innovation and technology, Lam expressed the hope that while taking forward the development of the Hong Kong/Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Loop, both places can implement enhanced collaborative measures in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Cooperation Zone in Shenzhen as soon as possible to contribute to the development of an international I&T hub in the Bay Area. 

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She also expressed her gratitude to the Shenzhen municipal government for its support for Hong Kong amid the epidemic, including helping with the construction of community treatment facilities and a temporary hospital as commissioned by the central government.

For his part, Wang pledged to offer full support for Hong Kong to integrate into the nation's development, according to reports of the Shenzhen branch of People's Daily. 

He expressed the hope that closer cross-boundary cooperation can be conducted in checkpoint construction, technological innovation, modern service industry, education and healthcare, social livelihood and joint prevention and control of pandemic, according to the reports.