Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu speaks to the media ahead of an Executive Council meeting on July 4, 2023. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG – The leader of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said on Tuesday that he will pay a three-day visit to the Chinese mainland city of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, starting from Wednesday to help cultivate the strategic development of the city and the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region.

Addressing the media ahead of his weekly Executive Council meeting, John Lee Ka-chiu said he would lead a delegation of SAR government officials to participate in the 2023 Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation Chief Executive Joint Conference.

“Covering the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunan and the two special administrative regions, the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region is full of development potential in the country,” the CE said, adding that “in terms of the overall development layout of the country, the region is in the strategic location”.

Approved by the State Council, the conference is an important regional cooperation and exchange platform which was put forward and established jointly by nine mainland provinces and regions and the Hong Kong and Macao SARs (9+2) in 2004.

The 2023 Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation Chief Executive Joint Conference means a lot to the HKSAR as the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan proposed deepening cooperation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region and the report of the 20th National Congress indicated it is important to implement the strategy of regional development, said Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu

Under the theme “Embark on a New Journey. Open a New Chapter”, this year's conference means a lot to the SAR as the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan proposed deepening cooperation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region and the report of the 20th National Congress indicated it is important to implement the strategy of regional development, Lee said.

“With abundant resources and potential, we can give full play to the region’s geographical and economic connection and the advantages of the “one country, two systems” under the framework of the CEPAs (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangements) and its supplement, so that we could create new room for cooperation and enhance the level of the economic development,” he said.

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Lee said he would meet leaders of the nine provinces and the Macao SAR and visit various innovation and technology facilities during the trip to Guiyang.

Members of the HKSAR government delegation will include Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah; Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung; Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong; Director of the Chief Executive's Office Carol Yip; and Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Clement Woo Kin-man.

Competing for talents

Asked about his administration’s policy for recruiting talents, Lee stressed the world was competing for talents against economic challenges around the world and every country was trying to enhance its competitive edges by trolling for talents.

“It is not easy to ask a talent who has gone away to come back, so we need to make our package competitive enough for talents to come to Hong Kong,” Lee said, adding that it was evident that Hong Kong was attractive to talents as shown by the applications the government has received.

Besides attracting graduates from the world’s top 100 universities, the government will also consider other universities of quality as there were different tertiary education institutions preparing talents with different skills and specialties, he said.

As the government was tasked to secure Hong Kong’s status as a key center in eight different fields, including information and technology, cultural industry, art and intellectual property, Lee said new talents would help the city consolidate its status as a global hub in these areas.

READ MORE: John Lee to lead delegation on four-day GBA visit

Interactive session at LegCo

The CE also said he would attend the second interactive exchange session at the Legislative Council next Wednesday and invite LegCo members to share their views and questions on various topics.