29th May 2023 – (Hong Kong) Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met with the Governor of Hunan Province, Mr Mao Weiming today to discuss ways to deepen cooperation between the two regions. Also attending the meeting were the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai; and the Director of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms Carol Yip.
Mr Lee welcomed Mr Mao’s visit to Hong Kong and his delegation’s organisation of the 2023 Hunan-Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Investment and Trade Conference Week, which will promote new developments and connect with the GBA. He expressed satisfaction that Hunan Province will continue to embrace the opportunities brought about by the GBA development and further strengthen economic and trade cooperation with the GBA.
In 2016, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government established the Hunan Liaison Unit to deepen cooperation between the two regions in various aspects, including economic matters, trade, culture, and tourism. Mr Lee expressed gratitude to the People’s Government of Hunan Province for its strong support for the work of the liaison unit over the years. He noted that the HKSAR Government will continue to promote mutual exchanges and cooperation through the liaison unit.
Mr Lee also highlighted the potential for collaboration in tourism between Hong Kong and Hunan. He pointed out that Hunan’s rich tourism resources and Hong Kong’s well-developed tourism service industry offer plenty of opportunities for cooperation. With convenient transportation between the two regions, they can jointly promote multi-destination tourism to overseas visitors to tie in with the development of the GBA as a world-class bay area for leisure. This will promote the overall development of the tourism industry and achieve complementarity and mutual benefits.