CE set to formalize HK’s role on B&R

Hong Kong is set to play a concrete role in the Belt and Road Initiative after the chief executive signs a cooperation agreement outlining the city’s role in the national-level development blueprint with the country’s top development planning authority.

Meeting Hong Kong media before leaving for Beijing for her first duty visit, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuetngor said the agreement, which will be signed between the special administrative region government and National Development and Reform Commission today (Thursday), would detail the central government’s support on advancing Hong Kong’s participation in and potential contribution to the B&R.

The city’s No 1 official said she had raised the idea of the agreement with the State leaders and was given an initial nod in August when she paid an official visit to Beijing. The SAR government then spent three months drafting the agreement, Lam said.

Previously she mentioned that the agreement resembles the key mainland-Hong Kong cooperation protocol — the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement. The government will follow the agreement to implement related works on development under the Belt and Road Initiative.

In addition to signing the agreement, Lam will also meet State leaders and brief them on Hong Kong’s political, economic and social development.

Lam’s duty visit will end on Friday. Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu also went to Beijing on Wednesday for a visit to the Ministry of Public Security, discussing new arrangements on the mutual notification mechanism of criminal cases.

Since July, about 11 principal officials of the SAR government have paid official visits to Beijing, including Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kinchung and the Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.

Lam said the officials’ frequent visits to Beijing were made to address problems that concern Hong Kong people, ranging from business and trade to culture and education. These visits also helped government officials learn more about what Hong Kong people who work and live on the mainland need, Lam said.

She also extended her gratitude to central government officials for attaching so much importance to Hong Kong affairs.

This is Lam’s first duty visit

Work progress of the fifth-term Hong Kong SAR Government

since she assumed office on July 1. She is expected to report on her works to State leaders. For instance, she pushed forward an increase in annual education recurrent funding of HK$3.6 billion, which let more children in the city enjoy quality education.

Her efforts are also reflected in the co-location cooperation deal signed with Guangdong provincial government, marking the start of Hong Kong implementing a joint checkpoint plan at its Express Rail Link terminus.

Lam also attaches great importance to Hong Kong’s innovation and technology industry. In her maiden Policy Address in October Lam proposed a series of measures to boost the city’s I&T, including tax concessions and no less than HK$10 billion in funds for research and development.

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