Hong Kong – 5th Plenary Session of Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference (with photos/video)

     The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Gong Zheng, leading the delegations of the HKSAR and Shanghai respectively, co-chaired the 5th Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference through video conferencing today (August 30).
 
     Mrs Lam said, “Since the establishment of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference, the current-term Government is the only one which has held plenary sessions twice during the five-year term. This proves that the relationship between Hong Kong and Shanghai has become closer and more diversified, without being affected by external factors, even though Hong Kong has faced unprecedented challenges in the past two years. Shanghai and Hong Kong are key cities of the country with special status and functions. One is the leading city of the Yangtze River Delta Economic City Group and the other one is the core city of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. During the “14th Five-Year period”, the two places should strive for broader, closer and deeper co-operation, with a view to serving the country’s needs and contributing to the country’s development.”
 
     Hong Kong and Shanghai reached consensus on the following 13 co-operation areas:
 
Expansion in the Mainland Domestic Market and the Belt and Road Initiative
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     Encourage Hong Kong enterprises to participate in the China International Import Expo (CIIE) to be held in Shanghai to promote Hong Kong’s quality products and professional services, thereby expanding the Mainland domestic market and deepening economic integration between the two places, and support the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to promote at its pavilion in CIIE Hong Kong’s role as a connecting platform under the dual circulation strategy and organise a seminar entitled “Channelling Global Business through Hong Kong”.
 
     Continue to promote partnership between enterprises of the two places for participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and encourage relevant Shanghai authorities and enterprises to continue to participate in the Belt and Road Summit to be held in Hong Kong and thereby engage in investment and business matching and join hands in “going global” to tap into international business opportunities.
 
Cultural and Creative Industries
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     Give active support to online cultural exchanges among arts groups and schools for performing arts as well as cultural institutions and museums in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Once the pandemic has eased, both sides would resume exchanges which include supporting the staging of performances by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, etc in Shanghai.
 
     The West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong continues to collaborate with the Shanghai Xuhui Waterfront Area Comprehensive Development and Construction Management Committee (Shanghai West Bund), the SMG Performing Arts Group and the Shanghai Center of Chinese Operas in, among others, inviting the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, the Shanghai Pingtan Troupe and the Shanghai Yue Opera Group to stage performances in Hong Kong, and would promote and explore an exhibition collaboration project between the Power Station of Art and M+.
 
     Invite Shanghai’s trade representatives to Hong Kong’s annual major events Business of Design Week and Entertainment Expo Hong Kong and its activities (including the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market), strengthening exchanges between the trades in the two places. Support Create Hong Kong in sponsoring trade organisations to organise a seminar by winners of the Hong Kong Designers Association Global Design Awards 2021 in Shanghai in April 2022 to foster exchanges between the design industries in both places.
 
Innovation and Technology
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     Support the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality and the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong to establish a mechanism for technological exchanges between the Shanghai and HKSAR Governments, and encourage the setting up of a platform for exchange and co‑operation. Actively explore how the two places can advance the common goal of developing an international innovation and technology (I&T) hub through complementary development. Meanwhile, encourage the exchange and collaboration among the Shanghai Science and Technology Exchange Center, the Shanghai Technology Innovation Center, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the Hong Kong-Shanghai Economic Development Association and the Shanghai Hong Kong Association, and explore entering into a five-party co-operation agreement.
 
     Continue to support higher education and research institutes of the two places to undertake collaborative research and development projects and establish joint laboratories or research centres in the key areas of biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI) /robotics, financial technology (fintech) and smart city.
        
     Continue to support establishing I&T platforms such as technology parks and research bases in the two places. Encourage industry, academic and research institutes as well as I&T platforms of the two places to work in the field of transfer and transformation of technological achievements.  
 
Finance
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     Deepen the mechanism of the Working Meeting of Hong Kong-Shanghai Financial Co-operation to promote dialogue among monetary and financial authorities, financial regulators, financial markets and financial institutions of both places and continue to strengthen financial co‑operation between the two places.
 
     Encourage Hong Kong-funded financial institutions to seize the opportunities presented by the opening up of the Mainland’s financial industry, set up or buy shares of banking, insurance and securities institutions in Shanghai, and expand business of their Shanghai branches in accordance with the law.
 
     Connect the financial markets and financial infrastructure in Hong Kong and Shanghai in an orderly manner, study the extension of mutual access between the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets and continue to improve the trading and clearing mechanisms of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, and promote the mechanism for cross-boundary connectivity between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited bond market.

Education and Talent Development
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     Thoroughly implement the initiatives under the Memorandum of Understanding on Education Co-operation between the two places to support the development of the Shanghai-Hong Kong University Alliance and encourage more universities from both places to join the Alliance in accordance with its constitution, and encourage and support more secondary and primary schools as well as kindergartens in both places to form sister schools.

     Continue to promote and deepen exchanges between civil servants in both places. Explore the formulation of the next round of the staff exchange programme and the specific arrangements under the guidance of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.
 
Legal and Dispute Resolution
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     Support and facilitate greater business collaboration between the legal services sectors of the two places, and continue to give active support for law firms in Hong Kong and the Mainland to set up a partnership association in Shanghai, Hong Kong legal practitioners to be employed as legal consultants of Shanghai’s law firms, and law firms in both places to set up branches at the other side, etc.

     Support and facilitate the legal, arbitration, mediation and other related services sectors of the two places to develop exchange platforms and engage in co-operation, training and exchange of talents. Both sides would explore co-organising a Shanghai-Hong Kong legal forum subject to their respective conditions, resources and the epidemic prevention and control measures.
 
Healthcare and Medicine Regulation
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     Give active support to the development of Hong Kong’s first Chinese medicine hospital, promote academic and talent exchanges in Chinese medicine between the two places, take forward the implementation of the clinical training programme for senior Chinese medicine practitioners jointly offered by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Food and Health Bureau of Hong Kong, and strengthen co-operation in the internationalisation and standardisation of Chinese medicine. 
 
     Make active efforts to promote exchanges in pursuing high-quality development of public hospitals between the two places, including clinical management, informatisation, development of clinical specialised service, evaluation and international certification of hospitals, etc, and continue to support the implementation of a new round of collaboration agreement between the Shanghai Hospital Development Center and the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong.
 
Youth Development
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     Continue to support the holding of the Shanghai-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Economic Development Forum, and strengthen exchanges between young people of the two places in urban construction as well as youth innovation and entrepreneurship. Continue to improve and expand various youth exchange and internship programmes in the Mainland, including signature projects like the Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland and the Funding Scheme for Youth Internship in the Mainland. Shanghai would proactively provide better exchange and internship opportunities for Hong Kong young people. Support the introduction of short-term experiential programmes at innovative and entrepreneurial bases, with a view to enriching Hong Kong young people’s understanding of the entrepreneurial bases in Shanghai, as well as the relevant policies and supporting measures on innovation and entrepreneurship in the city. Support Hong Kong young people to start businesses in Shanghai and encourage start-up teams funded by the Youth Development Fund of the HKSAR Government to start businesses in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to expand their businesses to Shanghai according to their development needs.
 
Facilitation Measures for Hong Kong People
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     Shanghai would continue to implement the policy measures introduced by the Central Government to support Hong Kong and Macao people to pursue development in the Mainland, further strengthen the implementation of facilitation measures on residence permits, encourage more Hong Kong residents in Shanghai to apply for residence permits, and introduce measures to facilitate the use of the Home Visit Permit in the areas of education, health, finance, employment, etc.
 
Civil Aviation, Maritime Transport and Logistics
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     By leveraging on different channels and platforms including Hong Kong Maritime Week and the Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference held by the HKSAR Government and taking part in Marintec China held biennially in Shanghai, promote collaboration between the two places in civil aviation, maritime transport and logistics, and encourage maritime enterprises to make use of Hong Kong’s high-valued-added maritime services.
 
Other Co-operation Areas
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     Apart from the above, Hong Kong and Shanghai will continue to pursue co-operation in other areas including planning, development and management of urban area, environmental protection, sports and tourism, social welfare services, etc.
 
Co-operation Memorandum Signing Ceremony
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     At the meeting, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR, Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Gong Zheng, signed the “Co-operation Memorandum of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference”. The document (Chinese only) is in Annex 1.
 
     In addition, four co-operation agreements were signed by government departments, statutory bodies and relevant organisations of the two places:
 

• “Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Co-operation to Create Opportunities arising from the 14th Five-Year Plan and the ‘Dual-Circulation’ Strategy”;
• “Memorandum of Understanding between Shanghai and Hong Kong on Innovation and Technology Co-operation”;
• “Collaboration Agreement between Hong Kong Hospital Authority and Shanghai Hospital Development Center”; and
• “Letter of Intent on Co-operation between Shanghai Museum and Hong Kong Palace Museum”.

     The “Memorandum of Understanding between Shanghai and Hong Kong on Innovation and Technology Co-operation” (Chinese only) signed by government departments of the two places is in Annex 2. 
 
5th Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference
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     The 5th Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference was co-chaired by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR, Mrs Carrie Lam, and the Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Gong Zheng. Officials of the HKSAR Government attending the meeting included the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai; the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau; the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Alfred Sit; the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Caspar Tsui; the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui; the Director of the Chief Executive’s Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Under Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin; and other relevant officials.