Hong Kong Business News

Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong and Vice Minister of Science & Technology Lin Xin co-chaired the 18th meeting of the Mainland/Hong Kong Science & Technology Co-operation Committee in Xi'an today.

Prof Sun also called on Xi'an Municipal Government Mayor Ye Niuping and visited a number of important science and research platforms in Shaanxi.

At the meeting of the co-operation committee, Prof Sun said the National 14th Five-Year Plan indicates clear support for Hong Kong to develop into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre, providing the city with a clear position and mission.

With the country's staunch support, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been taking forward various important measures in accordance with the directions and strategies set out in the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint to promote the synergistic development among the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of Hong Kong's I&T ecosystem, with a view to supporting the city's high-quality development, and serving the country's needs with Hong Kong's own strengths, he noted.

The tech chief thanked the central government and the Ministry of Science & Technology for their staunch support for Hong Kong's I&T development over the years.

He highlighted that many important measures have been implemented in the two places in the past year, including the continuous expansion of the National Key Research & Development Programme and the National Science & Technology Major Project open to Hong Kong, and the opening up of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China under the National Natural Science Foundation of China to Hong Kong's young scholars, allowing Hong Kong researchers to participate rigorously in the national science and technology programmes.

The assessment exercise of State Key Laboratories in Hong Kong has also been preliminarily completed, Prof Sun added.

Furthermore, the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology signed the Co-operation Agreement on the Development of New Quality Productive Forces and the Promotion of New Industrialisation in September, to support Hong Kong's development of new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions.

Looking ahead, the technology secretary said the Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to adopt a multipronged approach to deepen the co-operation and exchanges in I&T with the Mainland.

It will also publish the Development Outline for the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen‑Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co‑operation Zone, setting out innovative policies to facilitate the flow of key elements of scientific research between the two parks of Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Prof Sun added that the Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to go full steam ahead in establishing Hong Kong as an international I&T centre, and accelerate the formation and development of new quality productive forces with Hong Kong's competitive edge.

“We will also make good use of Hong Kong's distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the Motherland and being closely connected to the world, play well our important role as a 'super connector' and 'super value-adder', with a view to becoming a platform for high-level I&T exchange, dialogue and co-operation, as well as an important bridge and two-way platform connecting the country and the world, thereby better serving the country's high-quality development.”

During his meeting with the Xi'an mayor, Prof Sun and Mr Ye exchanged views on deepening I&T co-operation between the two places.

Prof Sun pointed out that Shaanxi and Hong Kong will continue to proactively explore specific measures for deepening I&T cooperation, and jointly promote the advancement of Chinese modernisation.

He also visited the State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing System Engineering and the Collaborative Innovation Center of High-end Manufacturing Equipment of the Xi'an Jiaotong University, the State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics at the Northwest University, and the Qinchuangyuan Innovation Platform, to understand their latest developments and explore room for enhancing co-operation between the research and development institutes of the two places.

Prof Sun will conclude his visit and return to Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon.