The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s first five-year plan is slated for release by year-end, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced on Tuesday, with public consultation planned in the fourth quarter.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Executive Council meeting, Lee said the SAR government will set up a dedicated joint research and consultation mechanism with the Legislative Council — the city’s legislature — for the plan’s preparation to meet what he described as a “tight drafting timeline”.
According to John Lee, the drafting process of Hong Kong’s inaugural five-year plan, which he will personally oversee, will be spearheaded by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau.
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The mechanism will enable the bureau to work alongside relevant LegCo panels to conduct research and analysis, gather views from all fronts, and ensure findings are consolidated promptly to back an “executive-led formulation of the plan”, Lee said, adding that the formulation teams aim to complete their work within three to four months.
Lee cast the forthcoming development blueprint as the city’s strategic move to get in line with the national 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), approved at the recently concluded two sessions in Beijing.
The chief executive noted such alignment would bring “opportunities, business and talent” to Hong Kong, citing the sheer scale of the country’s 1.4 billion population, thus a vast consumer market, and its world-leading advances in artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies.
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“The nation’s development is a tailwind for Hong Kong,” Lee said.
The plan would further consolidate Hong Kong’s established competitive edges, he noted, pointing to the city’s strengths as reflected in global rankings — fourth in talent competitiveness, third as an international financial center, and a firm place among the world’s four leading shipping hubs — which are all solid foundations to build upon, Lee said.
He added that the roadmap would also allow residents — including those who may not fully appreciate the benefits of such planning — to see more clearly the city’s way forward for the coming half-decade, adding that the plan would strive to create a virtuous “cycle of growth and better livelihoods”.
LegCo President Starry Lee Wai-king welcomed the new collaborative mechanism with the legislature, lauding it as an “innovatively groundbreaking approach” that “further demonstrates the positive interaction between the city’s executive and legislature has scaled new heights”.
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LegCo would fully support the mechanism, Starry Lee pledged, vowing to “spare no effort” in actively gathering views, conducting research and analysis, and pooling wisdom to help draw “an important blueprint” for the city that aligns with the national 15th Five-Year Plan.
During a sharing session on the gist of this year’s two sessions, Ko Wing-man, a Hong Kong member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, said that the SAR government's formulation of Hong Kong's first five-year plan will enable the city to better align with national development, and provide a framework for future policy addresses and budgets to be crafted in line with this long-term direction.
He also refuted claims that the 15th Five-Year Plan represents a return to a planned economy. He said that the blueprint was developed on the basis of expert reasoning, with the scientific foundation, economic viability and capacity to deliver expected outcomes.
