FS promotes HK-Jiangsu ties

Visiting Nanjing today, Financial Secretary Paul Chan attended the “SmartHK” event and met Governor of Jiangsu Province Xu Kunlin, as well as Jiangsu businessmen who are investing in Hong Kong.

In the morning, he delivered opening remarks at “SmartHK”, noting that Jiangsu has been deepening its efforts towards high-quality opening-up and towards becoming an innovation hub for industrial technologies.

He added that Hong Kong, as an international financial, trade and shipping centre, is also advancing its development as an international innovation and technology centre, an intellectual property trading centre and an East-meets-West centre for international arts and cultural exchanges.

Mr Chan said Hong Kong and Jiangsu can further deepen collaboration on a solid foundation of partnership, contributing together to the country’s high-quality development.

Looking forward, Mr Chan outlined four areas for capitalising on Hong Kong’s strengths while enhancing mutually beneficial collaboration between the two places.

Firstly, he said, Jiangsu enterprises can utilise Hong Kong’s international financial market to expand their financing channels. Secondly, they can make good use of Hong Kong’s professional services platform to build a multinational supply chain management centre. Thirdly, the research and development synergies of the two places can be harnessed to open up new areas of co-operation in science and innovation; and, fourthly, collaboration can be strengthened in the creative and cultural industries to tell the world good stories about China.

Besides welcoming companies in Jiangsu and the Yangtze River Delta to leverage Hong Kong as a platform to develop international businesses, Mr Chan also invited talent there to come to Hong Kong to develop careers in the city. He added that talent from Jiangsu can also deepen regional co-operation and the development of the two places while in Hong Kong.

In the afternoon, the finance chief met Jiangsu Governor Xu Kunlin and updated him on Hong Kong’s latest situation and development directions. They discussed co-operation in areas such as finance, trade, innovation and technology, education, and culture.

Mr Chan said he is confident that Hong Kong and Jiangsu can continue to expand and deepen their collaboration, and work more closely in various areas, adding that the two places should join hands to spur technological innovation and nurture new industries together.

He outlined that Hong Kong enjoys the unique advantages of having the motherland’s strong support and being closely connected to the world, and serves as a super connector and super value-adder that can help Jiangsu enterprises go global and tap into international markets.

Hong Kong can also help Jiangsu to attract overseas funds and investors, such that the two places can seize vast opportunities in pursuing high-quality development together, he added.

Mr Chan also visited the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Jiangsu to meet businessmen in Jiangsu who are investing in Hong Kong, and exchanged views with them on the economic and business environment.

He encouraged Jiangsu businesses in Hong Kong to play a bridging role in facilitating more investment co-operation between Jiangsu and Hong Kong, and to be innovative and bold in opening up new markets.

Mr Chan concluded his visit to Nanjing and departed for Hong Kong in the evening.