Hong Kong to be fully engaged in Belt & Road’s eight major steps: John Lee

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said Hong Kong will be fully engaged in the eight major steps announced by President Xi Jinping to support quality Belt and Road cooperation which brings vast opportunities and space for the city’s development. 

Concluding his visit to the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Thursday, Lee believes the SAR has multiple ties with the eight steps, including signing more free trade and investment agreements with partners and proactively participating in other forums on international cooperation. 

Lee recalled the city held a Belt and Road Summit in September with the best-ever results of attracting nearly 6,000 representatives from approximately a dozen of countries and regions as well as over 100 delegations and over 35 state-owned enterprises. 

Lee said Hong Kong will continue to stage the summit to step up cooperation with participating countries and regions. 

The Hong Kong leader added that he signed three cooperation agreements worth US$450 million involving local enterprises at the forum’s CEO conference on Tuesday, covering the fields of medical technology, innovation and technology, and investment cooperation. 

He also said be it landmark projects involving other Belt and Road countries or small but delicate livelihood works, the city can contribute with its international-level financial and professional services, such as insurance, construction, architecture, accounting and legal services. 

Lee noted that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains his top priority for foreign visits and he also has plans to visit the Middle East and Europe. 

He stressed that Europe is also a key market for Hong Kong and the city highly values its trades with European countries.