Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu appealed to Shanghai's leadership on Thursday, encouraging them to channel mainland Chinese companies through Hong Kong, positioning the city as their primary international gateway. He emphasized Hong Kong's role as a "super-connector" under the "one country, two systems" framework during high-level discussions and a promotional event held alongside an expo.
Lee began with a keynote address at a joint conference organized by the government and trade council, focused on assisting mainland enterprises in expanding globally. He highlighted Hong Kong's unique advantages as the leading hub for outbound investment and business.
Subsequently, Lee met with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining and Mayor Gong Zheng, along with a senior representative from the central government's liaison office. The meeting served to commemorate the opening of the China International Import Expo and to express gratitude to the Shanghai hosts for supporting Hong Kong's promotional efforts.
Lee underscored the new initiative from his recent policy address – a specialized task force already working to guide mainland companies in their international ventures. He lauded the day's event as the task force's first major outreach on the mainland. He extended an invitation to leading Shanghai-based corporations to leverage Hong Kong's platform for smooth and effective expansion into overseas markets.
Reflecting on the strong relationship between the two cities since the 2003 cooperation agreement, Lee celebrated the progress made in areas such as trade, finance, technological innovation, cultural exchange, and youth programs.
He pointed to the launch in June of the Shanghai Gold Exchange's inaugural offshore vault in Hong Kong as a significant achievement, and pledged to enhance cooperation in the precious metals sector.
With Shanghai making significant strides in artificial intelligence and Hong Kong concentrating on gathering research, capital, data, and skilled professionals to establish a global innovation hub, Lee predicted that the two cities could combine their strengths to become a dominant force in AI. He expressed strong optimism about the potential for even wider and deeper collaboration, leading to the development of new drivers for economic growth.