Chief Executive John Lee met Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong today to welcome him and his delegation to Hong Kong, and exchange views on deepening co-operation between the two places.

Mr Qin also co-chaired the Hong Kong/Shenzhen Co-operation Meeting with Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki this afternoon.

Mr Lee pointed out that Hong Kong and Shenzhen agreed to set up 19 working groups during a video conference held in September last year to promote collaboration in a wide range of key areas under the principles of close co-operation, complementarity and mutual benefits.

The key areas include the Northern Metropolis, innovation and technology, finance, commerce and trade, youth employment and entrepreneurship as well as Qianhai.

He said the working groups are proactively working with their Mainland counterparts to push forward various co-operation projects and give full play to the leading role and knock-on effect of Hong Kong and Shenzhen as the core engines for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive noted that people-to-people exchanges between Hong Kong and Shenzhen have grown rapidly since the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Various economic activities and exchanges of business and tourism have also been enlivened, benefitting different sectors and the public in Hong Kong.

He thanked the Shenzhen Municipal Government for its strong support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in implementing the travel resumption and working together to ensure the smooth and safe operation of various boundary control points.

Noting that Hong Kong will focus on pursuing economic development as it is fully open to the Mainland and overseas, Mr Lee said the multifaceted co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will help promote the economic development of the two places.

Both sides have been maintaining close financial co-operation. The Shenzhen Municipal Government is also the first Mainland municipal government to make use of Hong Kong's financing platform and professional services for bond issuance, which fully demonstrates Hong Kong's status as the global offshore renminbi (RMB) business hub as supported by the National 14th Five-Year Plan.

The Chief Executive welcomed the Shenzhen Municipal Government and Shenzhen's quality enterprises to continue to issue offshore RMB bonds in Hong Kong, and hopes to continue to strengthen co-operation between the two sides in the field of financial services.

He also looks forward to visiting Shenzhen with his delegation tomorrow and meeting leaders there to further exchange views on comprehensively deepening co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen and jointly promote high-quality development in the bay area.