Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Friday invited Vietnam to deepen its collaboration with the city on various fronts, highlighting Hong Kong’s rich advantages in developing businesses, especially its close links with the dynamic Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
On the last day of Lee’s six-day trip to three ASEAN countries, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Vietnam signed 22 memorandums of understanding (MoUs), covering multiple fields such as e-commerce, technology, education, and tourism.
Including the eight MoUs signed on Thursday, the HKSAR delegation sealed 30 deals with Vietnam during the landmark visit.
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At a business luncheon, Lee said that under the “one country, two systems” framework, Hong Kong has deep links with the Greater Bay Area and with countries taking part in the BRI.
With a substantial market of around 87 million people, the Greater Bay Area has experienced significant economic growth.
Prominent within the cluster, Hong Kong is the most open and diverse city in China, with top-ranking competitiveness in international trade and commercial regulations. Lee welcomed Vietnam’s openness to strengthening cooperation with Hong Kong in various fields.
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Lee also thanked Vietnam for supporting Hong Kong in its bid to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Lee said that he is confident that after Hong Kong joins the RCEP, it can make greater economic contributions to ASEAN and to all of Asia.
On Friday, Lee met various high-level Vietnamese officials in Ho Chi Minh City and visited a Hong Kong-owned garment factory. He visited the production line to learn about the garment process, talked with the workers, and then planted trees with representatives of the factory.
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Since 2020, the garment company has opened a total of four factories in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. It has about 8,000 employees and can produce 900,000 items of clothing per month.
Some of the sports jackets worn by athletes of the Hong Kong, China team at the Paris Olympic Games this year were manufactured by the factory.
