Secretary for Justice Paul Lam, along with a Hong Kong delegation, attended the second seminar on the legal challenges and coping strategies under the Belt & Road Initiative in Beijing today.
 
The seminar is organised by the State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) and co-organised by the Department of Treaty & Law of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the Department of Justice.
 
The event allowed Hong Kong's legal sector to introduce to Mainland enterprises the strength of Hong Kong’s common law system and explore how the city's legal services can help them to go global.

It also enabled Hong Kong’s legal sector to analyse how Mainland enterprises can make use of the city’s professional services to complement the strengths of Hong Kong enterprises, so as to promote the high-quality development of the Belt & Road Initiative and assist the country's high-standard opening up, contributing to the country's market development together.
 
In his opening remarks, Mr Lam stressed that amid the complicated international environment these days, state-owned and private enterprises may inevitably have to face legal challenges and risks when going global. He added that Hong Kong is duty-bound to support state-owned and private enterprises to overcome such legal challenges and risks.
 
Mr Lam said he hoped that the seminar, which the Hong Kong legal sector attached great importance to, would establish good communication channels between Mainland enterprises and the city's legal profession.
 
The seminar consisted of three sessions featuring representatives from the SASAC and MOFCOM as well as business leaders and senior legal professionals as speakers, attracting more than 150 participants including representatives from 86 state-owned enterprises and private enterprises.
 
The first two sessions introduced to the audience the strength of Hong Kong's common law system and legal opportunities for Mainland enterprises to go global as well as the challenges and coping strategies of the legal and compliance risks under the Belt & Road Initiative.
 
During the third session, representatives from enterprises and relevant organisations shared their practical experiences on using Hong Kong legal services to support enterprises in making foreign investments.
 
Question-and-answer sessions were included in all three sessions for deepening the exchanges and mutual learning between Mainland enterprises and the Hong Kong legal profession.
 
In the evening, Mr Lam met students and representatives of relevant Mainland authorities participating in the Summer Attachment Programme for Hong Kong Law Students in the Mainland in Beijing to gain a better understanding of their internship experience.
 
Mr Lam will conclude his visit and return to Hong Kong tomorrow.