Zhou Zuyi, Secretary of the Communist Party of China Fujian Provincial Committee, delivers a speech at the Fujian-Hong Kong Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference on June 27, 2023. (LI XIAOYUN / CHINA DAILY)

At the Fujian-Hong Kong Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference on Tuesday, Fujian province facilitated 58 key cooperation projects with an array of organizations in Hong Kong in major industries such as electronic information, advanced equipment manufacturing and petrochemicals, with a total value of 74.83 billion yuan ($10.42 billion).

Thirty-three of these projects have signed contracts at the conference, with a contracted value of nearly 70 billion yuan, including one to promote the infrastructure of Fujian-Hong Kong digital-economy integration.

Fujian embraces investments from outside of the mainland, and the provincial government will give a maximum incentive of 10 million yuan at a rate of 1 percent for new or increased investment projects

Other key projects include a joint industry-university-research center between the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Jinjiang, Fujian province, as well as cross-border financial services collaboration between the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Fujian and Industrial Bank.

READ MORE: HK eyes closer cooperation with Zhejiang, Fujian

Located on China’s southeast coast, Fujian has a 3,700-kilometer-long coastline dotted with 1,404 islands. The province’s economy soared from 6 billion yuan at the beginning of the reform and opening-up, more than 40 years ago, to 5.3 trillion yuan in 2022, with its GDP growth rate ranking first on the Chinese mainland.

Addressing the conference in Hong Kong, Zhou Zuyi,  Secretary of the Communist Party of China Fujian Provincial Committee, said, “Fujian and Hong Kong are close to each other in terms of geographical location and ancestral ties."

Eric Chan Kwok-ki, chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, said, “Nearly 1.3 million Hong Kong residents are originally from Fujian, and many of them are leaders in the business community and professionals who have contributed to the prosperity and stability of the city.”

Chan added that the cooperation conference and the signing ceremony marked the first event held by Fujian in Hong Kong since the full resumption of normal travel between the SAR and the mainland earlier this year, and thus it was of great significance.

In 2022, 786 Hong Kong-funded enterprises were established in Fujian, an increase of 3.8 percent year-on-year, and the actual utilization of Hong Kong capital was $3.47 billion, accounting for 69.4 percent of the province’s use of investment from outside of the mainland. Hong Kong is the sixth-largest export market of Fujian, with the total imports and exports reaching around 50 billion yuan.

To further strengthen the ties between Fujian and Hong Kong, Zhou proposed four ways they should work together to strengthen the momentum of industrial cooperation, expand the space for economic and trade exchanges, stimulate the potential in shipping and aviation, and jointly facilitate cultural cooperation.

Chief Secretary for Administration of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Eric Chan Kwok-ki, delivers a speech at the Fujian-Hong Kong Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference on June 27, 2023. (LI XIAOYUN / CHINA DAILY)

When introducing Fujian’s investment environment on Tuesday, Guo Ningning, Fujian executive vice-governor, pointed out that Hong Kong and Fujian have maintained close cooperation in major industries, such as the digital economy, innovation and technology, and education.

The Fujian-Hong Kong Digital Economy Cooperation Forum, for instance, was successfully held during the 6th Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, Fujian’s capital, in April. “Going forward, the two sides can take advantage of their respective resources to jointly explore further cooperation in the fields of computing services, data exchange and digital trade,” Guo said.

Representatives sign cooperation deals at the Fujian-Hong Kong Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference on June 27, 2023. (LI XIAOYUN / CHINA DAILY)

Fujian now is home to three science and technology cooperation bases with Hong Kong and two with Macao, involving electronic information, biomedicine, and marine high-tech industries, which are set up to carry out joint research on key technologies and industrialization demonstration.

READ MORE: Fujian and HK cultivate deeper trade ties

Fujian embraces investments from outside of the mainland, and the provincial government will give a maximum incentive of 10 million yuan at a rate of 1 percent for new or increased investment projects that are used to serve Fujian’s economic development, according to provincial authorities.

“The Hong Kong Trade Development Council will fully leverage its advantages as an international platform for commercial and trade exchanges to help Fujian to build ties with leading enterprises and institutions from Hong Kong and overseas,” said Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Speaking before the Hong Kong Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu expressed his hope for strengthened cooperation with Fujian.

Contact the writer at irisli@chinadailyhk.com