Hong Kong lawmakers said they’ve gained a more thorough understanding of the underlying logic and deeper implications of national planning during a study tour of Beijing.

The week‑long visit to the capital by all members of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s Legislative Council, which began on Sunday, is aimed at enabling them to systematically learn more about the country’s development. It’s the first such tour since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland in 1997.

The legislators attended seminars on various aspects of national affairs at the National Academy of Governance, and exchanged views with Chinese mainland experts to obtain a deeper understanding of China’s development.

ALSO READ: HK lawmakers set off on ‘groundbreaking’ Beijing study tour

On Wednesday morning, they attended a seminar on aligning Hong Kong’s first local five-year plan with the key points of the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

In a social media post, LegCo President Starry Lee Wai-king said the lecture thoroughly analyzed the context, guiding thoughts, major tasks, and other key aspects of the national 15th Five-Year Plan, as well as examining China's strategic opportunities, risks, and challenges from a global perspective.

Lawmakers realized that the 15th Five-Year Plan contains substantial opportunities for Hong Kong, so the SAR government and the legislature should enhance collaboration to better align the city’s five-year blueprint with national strategies to foster synergies, said Lee.

READ MORE: CE to hold exchange session with lawmakers on July 28

Lee added that LegCo members agree that to properly execute Hong Kong’s five-year plan, they must comprehensively understand the gist of the central government’s policies and pay more attention to the country’s macroeconomic operations.

Lee also stressed the importance of better publicizing Hong Kong’s planning to help residents and the international community better understand and support the city’s policy directions.

Lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun said the seminar was vivid, insightful, and historically significant, broadening her perspective and offering her a deeper understanding of how the country has accomplished successive five‑year plans.

She added that Hong Kong is now at a crucial moment to formulate its first five‑year plan, which should go beyond a mere list of short‑term policy measures.

“It must be firmly grounded in the nation’s overall development strategy, make scientific resource allocations, and coordinate economic, industrial, educational, technological, talent, and urban development to produce a forward‑looking blueprint,” Leung said.

Lawmaker Stanley Ng Chau-pei, representing Hong Kong Island East geographical constituency, said aligning with the nation’s plan requires systematically studying its entirety, and precisely positioning Hong Kong’s development in the national strategy to seize historical opportunities and turn the SAR’s unique advantages into tangible growth.

Ng urged Hong Kong officials to adopt a mindset of proactively integrating and serving national development.

The delegation toured the capital’s 12345 Government Service hotline center on Wednesday afternoon, where they learned how mainland authorities operate a four‑tier government service system to break down public feedback, stratify services, and implement solutions step by step, and analyze the issues with big data and other technologies.

On Tuesday, the delegation attended a seminar on the country’s overall national development and breakthroughs made in recent years, and visited the Museum of the Communist Party of China.

The tour, which ends on Saturday, will also include visits to key institutions, such as the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, and expert-led seminars offering insights on the nation’s latest development principles, the formulation of the Five-Year Plan, international relations, national security and the legal system.

The delegation will also conduct field inspections to examine breakthroughs in new quality productive forces, artificial intelligence, aerospace, information technology applications, grassroots governance, public services, and the preservation of historical and cultural heritage.

Contact the writer at gangwen@chinadailyhk.com