Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang (right) and the Acting Mayor of the Shenzhen Municipal Government Wang Rong co-chaired the Hong Kong/Shenzhen Co-operation Meeting at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on November 30.

Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang and the Acting Mayor of the Shenzhen Municipal Government Wang Rong, co-chaired the Hong Kong/Shenzhen Co-operation Meeting in Hong Kong on November 30. Relevant principal officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, as well as senior officials and heads of various Shenzhen authorities, also attended the meeting.

Both sides comprehensively reviewed the work over the past year, and conducted more in-depth discussion over a number of key areas, including the development of Qianhai, tourism cooperation, financial services, education, cross-boundary infrastructure development, environmental protection and innovation and technology. Both sides shared the view that the meeting was a resounding success, and agreed to advance Hong Kong/Shenzhen cooperation, conceive new cooperation initiatives and explore new opportunities in a steady, progressive and forward-looking manner.

On the development of Qianhai, a consensus was reached to move forward with the cooperation initiative. The Shenzhen Municipal Government will take up the leading role and be responsible for the development and management of the Qianhai area, while the HKSAR Government will provide comments on the study and formulation of issues such as development planning and policies.

To facilitate the discussion of Qianhai development, both sides agreed to collect extensively, through multiple channels and means, the views of experts of the concerned fields on various related issues, such as the mode of development, industry development, new policies, infrastructural development and operational management. The joint expert group to be set up will be led by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the HKSAR Government and the Executive Vice-Mayor of the Shenzhen Municipal Government. Its members comprise officials of the relevant authorities of both governments. The joint expert group will start to discuss the detailed cooperation direction and content as soon as possible.

Tourism
With regard to tourism, both sides welcomed the implementation of a new arrangement from December 15 to allow non-Guangdong residents ordinarily residing in Shenzhen to apply for Individual Visit endorsements in Shenzhen to visit Hong Kong. Both sides will actively promote it to attract more mainland China visitors to Hong Kong for sightseeing and consumption, to stimulate Hong Kong’s tourism, retail, catering and other related sectors, and further facilitate the movement of people from the two places. In addition, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Hong Kong Tourism Board have signed an agreement to enhance cooperation on areas such as tourism information sharing and joint promotion.

Financial services sector
In the financial services sector, both sides agreed to leverage the “early and pilot implementation” policy to enhance the two-way flow of financial institutions, financial products, capital and talent between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. They also agreed to strengthen the links between the financial markets of both sides in the areas of financial market infrastructure and information sharing. To start, both sides agreed to seek expansion of the pilot program of cross-border renminbi trade settlement and prompt introduction of exchange-traded funds constituted by Hong Kong stocks to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

On education, an agreement has been signed between the education authorities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen to confirm the implementation details of the pilot project on the operation of Hong Kong Children Classes in three Minban schools in Shenzhen. Eligible Primary 6 students in these classes can take part in the Secondary School Places Allocation and will be allocated Secondary 1 places in schools of Hong Kong. The Education Bureau of Hong Kong will provide training for teachers of these classes and arrange schools in Hong Kong to serve as sister schools of these Minban schools to enhance professional exchanges and cooperation. Hong Kong and Shenzhen education authorities will continue to work with each other to explore further collaboration opportunities in education.

Cross-boundary infrastructure development
On cross-boundary infrastructure development, the Hong Kong and Shenzhen authorities have maintained close liaison and cooperation. Both sides have exchanged views on the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point project with regard to such aspects as work schedule, entrustment of part of the cross-boundary works for implementation by the Shenzhen side and the organization of the design competition jointly for the passenger terminal building. Both sides have reached consensus on the vision to develop the Lok Ma Chau Loop as an area for fostering cross-boundary talents and exchange of knowledge and technology under the principle of sustainable development. This will form the basis for the next stage of the planning work.

In addition, the two sides reviewed the progress made in the studies relating to the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Express Line (WEL), and agreed to pursue the planning work on the basis of the Co-operation Arrangement on Advancing Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Express Line, which was signed in August this year, thereby enabling the WEL to perform its multiple transport functions effectively and facilitating cross-boundary travel between Hong Kong and Shenzhen for travelers. The transport arrangements for Qianhai will be one of the priorities in the planning work.

Environmental cooperation
On environmental cooperation, following the signing of the Co-operation Agreement on Cleaner Production between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in 2008, the two sides are actively taking forward the Cleaner Production Partnership Program. In the past year, more than 380 projects in the Pearl River Delta region were approved under the program. Of these, 90 were from factories based in Shenzhen. Regarding improving regional air quality, both sides are strengthening cooperation and exchange regarding reduction of tailpipe emissions from motor vehicles; use of cleaner motor fuels; implementation of comprehensive vapor recovery system at petrol filling stations, oil depots and tanker trucks; and management of volatile organic compounds pollutants.

To further improve the water quality of the Shenzhen River, the two sides jointly commissioned a three-year strategic study on remediation of Shenzhen River contaminated sediment in June this year with a view to developing feasible remedial solutions. Both sides will also enhance cooperation in the areas of promoting wider use of clean energy and green transportation.

On innovation and technology cooperation, Hong Kong and Shenzhen signed a cooperation agreement on "Shenzhen/Hong Kong Innovation Circle" in 2007, in order to consolidate the technological resources and enhance the overall competitiveness of the two places. Following the signing of the agreement, the two sides have jointly launched a number of initiatives, including the joint funding for Research and Development (R&D) projects and joint participation in the annual China High-Tech Fair. The two sides have also successfully invited DuPont of the United States to set up its Global Photovoltaic Research and Development Centre in Hong Kong and to establish a relevant production base in Shenzhen. DuPont's headquarters and R&D center in the Hong Kong Science Park were opened in March 2009, and the production base also commenced operation earlier this month. In addition, Hong Kong and Shenzhen agreed on a "Shenzhen/Hong Kong Innovation Circle" Three Year Action Plan in March 2009. The Action Plan comprises 24 cooperation projects in various technology fields. Cooperation partners comprise government departments, universities, R&D institutions and community organizations from both sides.

In other areas, the HKSAR Government will soon establish a dedicated liaison unit in Shenzhen under the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong for working with Shenzhen.  

Apart from the above key areas, there has also been close cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in a number of other areas such as arts and culture, sports, information technology, quarantine and public health, and civil servants exchanges. Both sides agreed to explore new areas of cooperation and concrete measures on the basis of the established foundation.