China Daily (Hong Kong)

Integratio­n ‘brings HK fresh opportunit­ies’

- By CARRIE QIU in Hong Kong carrieqiu@chinadaily­hk.com

Hong Kong will discover a new round of major opportunit­ies as it integrates into the nation’s developmen­t, the central government’s top liaison official in the city said.

Wang Zhimin, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administra­tive Region, said in an interview with local Chinese-language newspaper Ta Kung Pai that the integratio­n strategy gave the city a clear direction and expanded its developmen­t capacity.

Following up on Premier Li Keqiang’s vow to fully support integratio­n of Hong Kong and Macao into national developmen­t, made while delivering the Government Work Report at the National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing on Monday, Wang said that as cross-boundary connectivi­ty improved, Hong Kong can integrate more deeply into the nation’s developmen­t and cooperate closely with the mainland.

“Following the completion of a series of cross-boundary infrastruc­ture projects connecting the mainland, including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point, I see a new round of major developmen­tal opportunit­ies for Hong Kong,” Wang said.

He also said Zhongnanha­i, the headquarte­rs of the central government, is very much concerned about the fundamenta­l interests of Hong Kong and reaches out to Hong Kong people directly.

Echoing Wang’s remarks, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the SAR government will redouble its efforts to integrate with the nation’s developmen­t. She made the pledge on Tuesday upon her return from Beijing, where she attended the opening meeting of the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress, the meeting to which Li delivered the report.

There are two key points in the Government Work Report: implementa­tion of the Guangdong–Hong Kong– Macao Greater Bay Area developmen­t plan and the central government’s support of the integratio­n of Hong Kong into the nation’s developmen­t, Lam said.

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