The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, in Guangzhou today (May 17) continued her visit to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area.
 
     In the morning, Mrs Lam and the other officials visited three enterprises at the Science City of the Guangzhou Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone engaging in regenerative medical technology, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, and medical technology and rehabilitation robots. The visits allowed them to know more about collaboration between Hong Kong and Guangzhou enterprises in transformation of scientific and technological achievements as well as the development of Hong Kong companies establishing a presence in Guangzhou to gain access to the Mainland market. Mrs Lam expressed the hope that the two cities can boost collaboration among relevant sectors in the field of innovation and technology (I&T), and combine government support, production, education, scientific research and practical application in advancing the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area as an international I&T centre.
 
     Mrs Lam and the other officials then met with the Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Mr Li Xi, and the Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Ma Xingrui, and attended a lunch hosted by them. At the meeting, Mrs Lam thanked the Guangdong Provincial Government for the large amount of work it did to prepare for last month's visit by members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong to the Bay Area, which was well received by the Legislative Council members. She said that this year is the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up of the country and in the course of the reform and opening up, Guangdong Province was the first mover and Hong Kong also made contributions. She expressed the hope that the Bay Area would carry on from past successes while creating new achievements in the future, raising Hong Kong-Guangdong co-operation to a new stage. She said that to develop a world-class Bay Area, breakthroughs in co-operation between Hong Kong and Guangdong in innovation are needed. She said that the instruction made personally by President Xi Jinping days earlier introduced a major breakthrough in the co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong in scientific research with the opening up of science and technology funding of the Central Government for application by universities and research institutions in Hong Kong, helping tremendously in the future development of the Bay Area as an international I&T centre. Mrs Lam proposed to Mr Li to continue to strengthen the work on youth exchanges and people-to-people bonds, so that people of the two places will embrace the development of the Bay Area.
 
     In the afternoon, Mrs Lam and the other officials toured an entrepreneurship base of the Tianhe Hong Kong and Macau Youth Association in Tianhe District to learn about its services and development plan. She exchanged views with young entrepreneurs from Hong Kong at the base and was told about their start-up experiences in Guangzhou. Established in October 2017, the base provides young people of Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao with support services in entrepreneurship, internship, exchanges and living.
 
     Mrs Lam and the other officials then visited the Pazhou Internet Innovation Cluster, which is currently being developed, to learn about its development as an Internet technology and innovation platform. They also toured the Qingsheng station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link in the Nansha district to view the area's transportation network and the surrounding development.
 
     Mrs Lam and the other officials returned to Hong Kong this afternoon.

Ends/Thursday, May 17, 2018
Issued at HKT 19:15

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