Hong Kong and Shaanxi started to sign a range of agreements to enhance exchanges and cooperation in areas such as innovation and technology, legal affairs, and trade, marking significant progress achieved during a weeklong promotional campaign initiated by the Chinese mainland province.
Lasting from Sept 2 to 7, these events aim to deepen Shaanxi’s collaboration with Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions in fields like trade, culture and tourism, as well as technology and education.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong Department of Justice and the Justice Department of Shaanxi province signed a cooperation agreement during an exchange meeting with a focus on Shaanxi’s high-quality opening-up and cooperation.
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Aiming at advancing legal services cooperation between the two regions and supporting the Belt and Road Initiative, the agreement marks the first cooperation agreement between the two regions in legal services and talent development.
Following the agreement signing, Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said that the cooperation agreement will enhance cooperation and exchanges of legal communities in both regions. This includes areas such as international commercial arbitration and the training of foreign-related legal professionals.
He said that the DoJ will hold the annual Hong Kong Legal Services Forum in Xi’an next year. As a significant initiative proposed in the cooperation agreement, the forum will promote Hong Kong’s international legal and dispute resolution services.
Addressing the exchange meeting, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu revealed that the agreements to be signed by various government departments and agencies will cover innotech, legal affairs and trade, and they are expected to propel Shaanxi-Hong Kong cooperation to new heights.
He believes that through deepening collaboration, Shaanxi and Hong Kong can better leverage their respective strengths to drive the development of new quality productive forces. Lee expressed his confidence that both regions can make greater contributions to advance Chinese modernization and realize the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
On Tuesday, China West Airport Group signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Airport Authority Hong Kong. The two authorities vowed to jointly build an “air silk road” by leveraging Hong Kong’s strengths as an international aviation hub.
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According to the memorandum, the two authorities will deepen cooperation in various areas, including increasing passenger flights between Xi’an and Hong Kong, expanding new cargo routes to develop a broader freight market, and promoting the integrated development of the aviation and tourism industries.
The authorities aim to build Xi’an Xianyang International Airport into a cargo allocating center of Hong Kong International Airport for the western region of China, as well as a transit hub to countries in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
This year, Shaanxi’s annual promotional activities will comprehensively promote the province to various sectors in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Leading a delegation, Secretary of the Communist Party of China Shaanxi Provincial Committee Zhao Yide met with Lee on Tuesday and attended the exchange meeting on Wednesday.
Apart from various economic and trade promotion events, the province will also host cultural and tourism promotion events to showcase numerous local intangible cultural heritage items, aiming to foster deeper cooperation between the two regions in cultural tourism.
The delegation will also visit and enhance exchanges at institutions such as the University of Hong Kong, University of Macau, West Kowloon Cultural District, and Hong Kong Science Park.
