From 7 to 9 February 2023, key leaders of the Nanjing Municipal Government led a delegation to Hong Kong to carry out economic and trade exchanges.
The Nanjing Economic and Trade Delegation was the first large-scale mainland economic and trade delegation to Hong Kong after the resumption of full customs clearance between Hong Kong and the Mainland.
During its stay in Hong Kong, the delegation visited multinational companies, headquarter enterprises, and key institutions in the fields of finance, scientific research, associations, and industrial parks, and held a number of diverse two-way cooperation activities, achieving a group of considerable and influential results.
In order to consolidate the results of the economic and trade exchange activities in Hong Kong, on the afternoon of March 2, the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Commerce jointly organized the Jiangsu (Nanjing) - Hong Kong Economic and Trade Exchange Seminar with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).
After the Nanjing Economic and Trade Delegation paid a visit to Hong Kong, in order to promote the implementation of cooperation between the two sides, the HKTDC organised a delegation of Hong Kong enterprises to visit Nanjing.
The representatives came from Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, Swire Properties, Wharf Group, Bank of East Asia, and other key Hong Kong-funded enterprises and institutions, covering fields such as commercial real estate and related modern services, retail business, and financial support.
The seminar aims to implement the Cooperation Agreement on Further Opening up the Service Sector between Hong Kong and Nanjing, promoting trade and investment cooperation between the two sides and sharing new opportunities for opening up the service industry.
According to Zhang Zhichao, in December 2022, as the State Council formally approved the launch of comprehensive pilot programs for opening up the service sector in Nanjing, Nanjing becomes the only city in Jiangsu Province to carry out the two major opening-up strategies of China - the opening-up of the service industry and the establishment of the pilot free trade zone.
It is Nanjing’s aspiration that, with the opening-up of the service industry, there will be a broader scope of cooperation for Hong Kong and Nanjing.
The first is the market connectivity. The two sides are expected to give full play to their respective advantages in location and industries, and build bridges of cooperation between the two markets, to achieve win-win cooperation.
The second is in the area of professional services. We look forward to working with Hong Kong’s enterprises in the service industry and professional institutions to promptly seize the opportunities in jointly promoting the opening up of the service sector.
The third is people’s livelihood and cultural industry. Based on the economic and trade exchanges, the two sides should expand the areas of cooperation, carrying out multi-level and multi-faceted interaction in such fields as culture and tourism, talent exchange, and medical care and elderly care.
According to Lyu Jian, with the support of the HKSAR Government, the HKTDC launched the Mainland Development Support Program last year. The HKTDC will launch a series of activities and services to serve the needs of Hong Kong enterprises in the Mainland and help them explore more opportunities to achieve better development.
In the future, the HKTDC will work closely with various sectors in Nanjing, encourage more Hong Kong businesses to engage in the further opening up of Nanjing’s service industry, and integrate the cooperation of the two sides into the “dual circulation” development pattern of China.
At the seminar, Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Commerce briefed the audience on the measures related to the further opening-up of the city’s service sector. Jiangbei New Area and Xuanwu District introduced the application scenarios. Gulou District, Qinhuai District, and Jianye District provided information on the business areas and investment projects. Representatives from Hong Kong enterprises communicated actively with their counterparts from Nanjing.
Representatives from Jiangbei New Area, business departments of other districts, and local enterprises attended the meeting and actively engage in exchanges and communications to explore new channels for win-win cooperation.
Nanjing will seize the opportunity of launching comprehensive pilot programs for opening up the service sector, and give full play to its advantages in science and technology innovation, scientific and educational talents, transportation location, industrial synergy and market space, in order to facilitate the two-way opening of the service industry between Hong Kong and Nanjing and deepen the reciprocal cooperation between the two sides.
This partnership helps to confirm Nanjing's place as a regional leader in the business sector, and shows once again why Nanjing is the perfect place for ARIE Ventures' China office, where it maintains a full-time team.