Secretary for Justice Paul Lam today met Mainland officials in Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Mr Lam and his delegation, comprising about 40 representatives from the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association, and local and international law firms, visited Shanghai yesterday and today before travelling onwards to Hangzhou.

This morning, Mr Lam met Vice President of the Shanghai High People's Court Wang Guangxian. They discussed their respective experiences of judicial practice and ways to strengthen talent training.

He then met Shanghai Vice Mayor Lu Shan to learn about developments in the city and to highlight the unique advantages stemming from Hong Kong's robust common-law system and its being connected both to the Mainland and the world under the "one country, two systems" principle. He said this can provide Shanghai enterprises with support, through legal and other professional services, in their overseas expansion.

Arriving in Hangzhou this afternoon, Mr Lam met Vice Governor of Zhejiang Province Yang Qingjiu to discuss strengthening co-operation and exchanges between Zhejiang and Hong Kong.

Mr Lam's itinerary in Shanghai began yesterday with a visit to the headquarters of an Internet and technology company. He then visited the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice to meet Secretary of the CPC and Director-General of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice Gu Quan. They exchanged views on strengthening professional co-operation in the legal, arbitration and mediation sectors, and on training for foreign-related legal professionals.

Together with his delegation, the justice chief also attended a roundtable meeting and networking dinner for Shanghai and Hong Kong lawyers and enterprises. He promoted Hong Kong's strengths as an international financial centre and international legal hub in being able to leverage its common law system and legal and dispute resolution services to assist Mainland enterprises in "going global".