Liu Guangyuan, head of the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong SAR, gives a speech in Hong Kong on Sunday at the ceremony marking the beginning of his delegation's visit to four mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. A high-level delegation consisting of representatives of Hong Kong-based foreign organizations, the city's business leaders and government officials began a five-day trip to four mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on Sunday to examine the region's latest developments and to seek opportunities.
The delegation will visit Dongguan, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Shenzhen, meet local officials, and visit iconic businesses such as BYD, iFlytek and Gree to get a better understanding of the Greater Bay Area's development plans, favorable policies, and investment and entrepreneurship prospects. The group will return to Hong Kong on Thursday.
The tour was organized by the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong SAR and is headed by the office commissioner Liu Guangyuan. Over 100 representatives of commercial chambers, international corporations and financial institutions and foreign diplomatic missions are accompanied by him. Algernon Yau Ying-wah, secretary for commerce and economic development, is part of the delegation.
Liu said at the trip's launch ceremony on Sunday that the development of the Greater Bay Area, promoted by President Xi Jinping, has led the pace of China s reform and opening-up and has attracted many professionals and dedicated many resources to the region.
The GDP of the nine mainland cities in the GBA increased by more than 4.46 trillion yuan $1.52 billion in 2022, an increase of over 4 percent year-on-year. Because many foreign diplomatic and business leaders in Hong Kong have a keen interest in the GBA development, the Commissioner's Office decided to organize the trip soon after the full resumption of cross-border travel between the special administrative region and the Chinese mainland. Liu said something.
In the next few days delegates will be briefed about the achievements of three GBA cooperation platforms of Qianhai, Nansha and Hengqin, and also be briefed about the infrastructure connectivity created by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai -- Macao Bridge.
They will reach out to a number of leading technology firms in the cluster, such as new-energy vehicle bellwether BYD, Internet giant Tencent, Gree Electric Appliances, and Jinko Power Technology. The delegation will visit the South China Artificial Intelligence Research Institute of iFlytek, a powerhouse in voice recognition, and the China Spallation Neutron Source, a super-microscope that was jointly built by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Guangdong province.
During the visit, top government officials from Guangdong and the four Guangdong cities will hold promotional events for foreign investors to learn about the GBA's favorable policies and investment potential and to help them seize the rich development opportunities in China's high-quality opening-up.
Liu said that Hong Kong has ushered in a new stage of stability and prosperity, and that the foundation of one country has become more solid while the advantages of two systems are more prominent.
He said that Hong Kong is now fully integrating itself into the national development, during which the GBA will add momentum and set a big stage for Hong Kong to achieve greater development.
Liu said that the Commissioner's Office will provide more platforms for foreign consulates and business communities to share more benefits from the GBA and all of China through the Hong Kong SAR.