Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, Chan Kwok-ki (center) delivers the opening remarks at the 2023 Hong Kong/Shenzhen Cooperation Meeting in Hong Kong on Feb 22, 2023. Also attending were Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing (left), and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai. (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 – heard that the Hong Kong and Shenzhen governments have made steady progress in various cooperation areas.

The officials focused on further deepening 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, the government said in a news release.

“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.

Welcoming the Shenzhen mayor’s visit to Hong Kong, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu pointed out that as Hong Kong is now fully open to the mainland and overseas, it will focus on pursuing economic development, and the multifaceted cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will help promote the economic development of the two places.

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The CE is leading a Hong Kong delegation to Shenzhen on Thursday to meet with Shenzhen leaders to further exchange views on comprehensively deepening cooperation between the two cities, and jointly promote high-quality development in the GBA.

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 at the Hong Kong/Shenzhen Cooperation Meeting Wednesday.

The first meeting of the Task Force for Collaboration on the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy 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.

Construction of batch 1 buildings of the HSITP will be completed progressively in phases from the end of 2024 onwards. 

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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 said it welcomes the Shenzhen Municipal Government to continue to issue offshore Renminbi bonds in Hong Kong and leverage the city as its premier financing platform. 

The two governments signed the Letter of Intent on Hong Kong-Shenzhen Financial Institutions Youth Internship Programme after the meeting to further encourage the youth to grasp the opportunities arising from the development of financial services in the Bay Area.

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)

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. 

Tourism

Following the resumption of cross boundary travel between Hong Kong and the mainland, the HKSAR government together with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) will continue to maintain close liaison with Shenzhen to jointly explore opportunities for promotion of tourism resources in both places.  

The HKTB and the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Tourism, Radio and Television signed the Tourism Co-operation Agreement after the meeting to strengthen exchanges and cooperation on tourism between the two cities.

Commerce and investment promotion

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has established the "HKTDC GBA Centre" and "GoGBA Business Support Centre" in Shenzhen to assist Hong Kong enterprises in taking the GBA as an entry point to develop the domestic sales market. 

The HKTDC will organize the flagship event "Chic HK" in Shenzhen in May this year to promote Hong Kong's products.

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Invest Hong Kong and the Commerce Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality have reached a consensus to jointly attract overseas investment to Hong Kong and Shenzhen by co-organizing overseas investment promotion events, including physical conferences to be held this year in North America, Europe, Australia and Japan, as well as virtual seminars for joint promotion. 

An investment forum will also be organized in the SAR this year to promote the business advantages of the two GBA cities to attract more foreign investors to start businesses in both places.

Qianhai development

Since its establishment, Qianhai has been positioned as the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone. Currently, more than 10,000 Hong Kong-invested enterprises have registered in Qianhai and are operating in the modern service industries such as financial services, logistics and information services.

The HKSAR government said it was looking forward to seeing more policy breakthroughs being implemented on a pilot basis.

Professional services

The HKSAR government will continue to create more opportunities in mainland GBA cities for the Hong Kong legal services sector. Efforts include seeking the mainland authorities’ support for extending the measure of allowing Hong Kong-invested enterprises to adopt Hong Kong law and to choose Hong Kong as the seat of arbitration to be applicable to the whole of Shenzhen and then to other parts of the 11-city cluster.

As of the end of 2022, 205 Hong Kong and Macao legal practitioners have been allowed to practice in the nine mainland GBA cities. The third GBA Legal Professional Examinations is scheduled to take place in May this year. 

The SAR government will co-organize with the mainland authorities practical legal training courses for Hong Kong's legal practitioners who have passed the GBA Exam.

The implementation of a registration system in Qianhai in October 2020 has enabled eligible Hong Kong enterprises and professionals in five disciplines – engineering, architecture, surveying, planning and landscape architecture – to provide direct services in Qianhai of Shenzhen through a simple registration system to acquire equivalent qualifications in the mainland. 

Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki (right) and Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong pose for a photo before co-chairing the 2023 Hong Kong/Shenzhen Cooperation Meeting in Hong Kong on Feb 22, 2023. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

Cross-boundary infrastructure

In order to develop the "GBA on the Rail", the Hong Kong and Shenzhen governments is following up with the implementation of projects including Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu–Qianhai) and Northern Link Spur Line. 

The Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point, connecting to Liantang Port of the mainland, has been fully commissioned since Feb 6. 

The new Huanggang port will adopt the "collaborative inspection and joint clearance" mode to further facilitate passenger clearance and enhance the overall clearance efficiency.

Youth development

The SAR government has been striving to enhance Hong Kong young people's understanding of national affairs by providing them with exchange and internship opportunities in the mainland. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Hong Kong Youth Internship Scheme has covered all mainland cities of the GBA since 2019, providing about 1,000 diverse internship placements.

The government has also subsidized NGOs through the Youth Development Fund to implement youth entrepreneurship projects. Some of the funded NGOs will cooperate with 10 entrepreneurial bases in Shenzhen to render entrepreneurial support and incubation services to youth startups. 

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On employment, a new round of application under a regularized GBA Youth Employment Scheme will commence in March. 

Environmental protection

Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and Shenzhen’s Planning and Natural Resources Bureau signed the Framework Arrangement for the Conservation of Shenzhen Bay (Deep Bay) Wetlands in January, which seeks to establish sister wetlands between the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site and the Guangdong Neilingding Futian National Nature Reserve.

Both sides will establish a working group in the first quarter this year to formulate and jointly implement the work plan in respect of various cooperation areas under the arrangement.

Healthcare

The HKSAR government, the Hospital Authority and the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital will review the follow-up arrangements of the Special Support Scheme for chronic disease patients to sustain their medical consultation with a view to better exploring and planning a suitable model to cater for the medical needs of Hong Kong residents living in the mainland Bay Area cities. 

The HA will adopt the Shenzhen Hospital Accreditation Research Centre accreditation program at its two hospitals in 2023-24, which will ensure that the management and service standards of the HA hospitals meet the international standards, while supporting the internationalization of the national hospital accreditation standards.

Hong Kong’s Health Bureau and the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission will continue to deepen collaboration.