The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, attended the Opening Ceremony of Hong Kong & Macao – Zhejiang Week & Zhejiang and Hong Kong Cooperation Theme Forum 2023 in Hong Kong today (June 26). At the opening ceremony, Mr Lee, and the Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Mr Yi Lianhong, jointly witnessed the signing of a number of co-operation agreements between Zhejiang and Hong Kong for promoting complementarity and mutual benefits and achieving high-quality development of the two places.
      
     Mr Lee said that for a long time, Hong Kong and Zhejiang Province have had close relations and frequent exchanges. Under the overall layout of the country, both Zhejiang and Hong Kong play important and unique roles. Zhejiang Province has huge development potential and is the important province of the Yangtze River Delta; Hong Kong is a promoter of domestic and international dual cycles and possesses the unique advantage of “one country, two systems”. Through strengthening co-operation further, both sides would definitely achieve complementarity and mutual benefits, and jointly contribute to the development of the country.
 
     Hong Kong and Zhejiang reached consensus on the following 12 mutual co-operation areas:
 
Finance
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     Encourage Zhejiang enterprises to continue to make full use of different financing channels in Hong Kong’s financial market, including listing in Hong Kong, issuing bonds, etc., and using Hong Kong’s financial services to “go global”; give full play to the role of Hong Kong’s capital market in serving the country’s economy and boosting technological innovation, and encourage Zhejiang enterprises to use Hong Kong as a platform for refinancing, merger and acquisition, and restructuring; encourage Zhejiang fintech enterprises and financial institutions to set up offices in Hong Kong and co-operate with Hong Kong fintech enterprises.
 
     Promote Hong Kong’s green and sustainable finance grant scheme and Hong Kong’s advantages as the preferred financing platform; both sides will further co-operate closely in the construction of the carbon emission rights market system, and jointly help the country achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.
 
     Support Zhejiang enterprises to set up treasury centres in Hong Kong to centrally manage overseas treasury business and improve risk management and control; encourage Zhejiang entrepreneurs to set up family offices in Hong Kong; support the financial sector of the two places to hold financial forums and investment promotion activities to promote exchanges and co-operation in finance.
 
Innovation and Technology
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     Strengthen exchanges and co-operation in innovation and technology, using the advantageous areas and key industries of the two places to realise complementary advantages and facilitate the transformation and realisation of research and development outcomes; support universities, scientific research institutions, and innovative enterprises of the two places to jointly build international technology co-operation platforms; support the strengthening of co-operation of both sides in the area of digitalisation and encourage digital enterprises in Zhejiang to set up research and development centres or laboratories in Hong Kong.
 
     Explore the establishment of a joint training mechanism for science and technology talents, and attract international high-tech talents; support the exchange of young researchers of the two places.
 
Trade and Investment
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     Support Hong Kong-funded enterprises to set up offices in Zhejiang, explore specific co-operation mechanisms, and carry out regular investment promotion activities; support co-operation of the two places in the areas of exhibition economy, international trade, digital trade, and e-commerce, etc. Take advantage of the open platform provided by the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, explore the safe and orderly flow of data between Zhejiang and Hong Kong, and carry out pilot projects integrating the uniqueness of Hong Kong enterprises and Zhejiang-Hong Kong co-operation.
 
     Explore co-operation in publicity and organising seminars on intellectual property publicity between Zhejiang and Hong Kong, and promote intellectual property commercialisation and intellectual property trading; support delegations of Hong Kong chambers of commerce, professional associations and enterprises to visit Zhejiang to share Hong Kong’s experience in modern service industries and enhance the professional standard of modern service industries in Zhejiang.
 
Aviation
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     Strengthen the airport co-operation between Hong Kong and Zhejiang; continue to deepen the joint venture co-operation between Hangzhou Airport and the Hong Kong Airport Authority; support Zhejiang Airport to establish an international aviation innovation co-operation platform in Hong Kong. Make full use of the advantages of Hong Kong’s world-class international aviation hub to promote the high-quality development of Zhejiang’s aviation economy.
             
     Strengthen the personnel exchanges between Hong Kong and Zhejiang airports, and provide training related to airport management to Zhejiang airport personnel through the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy.
 
Education
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     Strengthen exchanges and co-operation in higher education personnel training, teacher exchanges, and academic research. Support Hong Kong and Zhejiang higher education institutions for co-operation integrating their respective strong disciplines.
      
     Encourage schools in the two places to form a sister school pairs to facilitate exchanges between teachers and students; support vocational schools and enterprises in the two places to carry out projects such as joint student training and school-enterprise co-operation.
 
Youth Exchange
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     Promote exchanges between Zhejiang and Hong Kong youths, enhance mutual understanding between youths of the two places, and provide support to Hong Kong youths studying, taking up internships and working in Zhejiang.

     Support and promote the Hong Kong Youth Internship Programme, encourage Zhejiang enterprises to provide more internship places for Hong Kong youth; support Hong Kong youth to start businesses in Zhejiang, and jointly establish the Zhejiang, Hong Kong and Macao Youth Talent Service Center; strengthen the liaison between youth associations in the two places.
 
Culture and Tourism
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     Actively support various arts groups, education institutions and cultural institutions in Zhejiang and Hong Kong to conduct exchanges and performances, and encourage young artists to carry out exchanges and co-operation.

     Support the development of creative industries in the two places; co-operate with the Hong Kong industry to develop “Zhejiang + Hong Kong” tourism product routes, improve service quality, and jointly formulate marketing plans for related products.
 
Exchange of Talents and Civil Servants
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     Both sides work together to improve the facilitation policy for talent exchanges, encourage talent exchanges in various industries, and support eligible talents with overseas professional qualifications to provide services in the Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone.

     Through the “Talent Engage”, the “Dedicated Team for Attracting Businesses and Talents” set up by the Mainland Offices of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and facilitation of entry, Hong Kong encourages qualified talents and professionals from Zhejiang to work in Hong Kong.
      
     With the co-ordination of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, both sides continue to promote exchanges between civil servants in Zhejiang and Hong Kong, and share management experience and professional knowledge in public services.
 
Health, Hygiene and Chinese Medicine
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     Promote regular exchanges on health between Hong Kong and Zhejiang, and support Hong Kong service providers in setting up medical institutions in accordance with the law in Zhejiang; support exchanges between the two places on biomedical applications, treatment options for major diseases and effectiveness of clinical application of drugs, and promote exchanges and co-operation in the medical area between the two places. Accelerate academic and talent exchanges in Chinese medicine between the two places, and strengthen co-operation in the field of international standardisation of Chinese medicine.

Environmental Protection
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     Promote exchanges on environmental protection between Zhejiang and Hong Kong; strengthen exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and Zhejiang in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change; promote exchanges and co-operation between Zhejiang and Hong Kong in the field of rural revitalisation and ecological conservation, and achieve sustainable development of urban-rural integration and ecological maintenance through sharing rural revitalisation cases and applying advanced technologies.
 
Facilitation for Hong Kong People in the Mainland
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     Zhejiang fully implements the policies and measures introduced by the relevant Central Government departments to facilitate the development of Hong Kong and Macao residents in the Mainland, so that Hong Kong residents holding residence permits in Zhejiang can enjoy the same treatment as Mainland residents.
      
     Explore the establishment of a “one-stop” consulting service platform for Hong Kong residents in Zhejiang, and address enquiries on various different facilitation policies and measures; support the work of Hong Kong institutions in Zhejiang and strengthen exchange and sharing of policy information.
 
Legal and Dispute Resolution
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     Support and promote the expansion of business co-operation between the legal service industries of the two places, and encourage Zhejiang law firms to engage Hong Kong legal practitioners as legal advisers, etc.; support Zhejiang mediation institutions to connect and establish co-operative relations with Hong Kong mediation institutions; support Hong Kong arbitration institutions in setting up business offices in accordance with the law in Zhejiang, promote the implementation of mutual enforcement of arbitral awards between the two places, and provide professional and international commercial arbitration and mediation services for the co-operation and development of enterprises in the two places.
      
     Explore the establishment of an exchange and training base for young legal talents in Zhejiang and Hong Kong, and an internship mechanism for legal talents such as the exchange of lawyers between Zhejiang and Hong Kong, and gradually establish a long-term co-operation mechanism for training of legal talents between Zhejiang and Hong Kong.
 
Co-operation Memorandum Signing Ceremony
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     At the meeting, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, and Vice Governor of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government, Mr Lu Shan, signed the “Co-operation Agreement between the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province to jointly promote high-quality development”. The document (Chinese only) is at Annex 1.

     In addition, three co-operation agreements were signed by government departments and an organisation of the two places:
 

• “Co-operation Memorandum between Department of Education of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province and Education Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”;
• “Co-operation Memorandum between Department of Commerce of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province and InvestHK of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”; and
• “Co-operation Memorandum between Hangzhou Municipal People’s Government and The Hong Kong Jockey Club on the development of equine sports.”

 
     The “Co-operation Memorandum between Department of Education of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province and Education Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” and the “Co-operation Memorandum between Department of Commerce of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province and InvestHK of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” (Chinese only) signed by government departments of the two places are at Annex 2 and Annex 3 respectively.
 
     Officials of the HKSAR Government accompanying the Chief Executive to attend the opening ceremony include the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai; the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin; and the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, etc.