Chief Executive John Lee today led a delegation on a visit to Fujian, where he met CPC Fujian Provincial Committee Secretary Zhou Zuyi and attended the High-Level Meeting and Fifth Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Fujian Cooperation Conference.

In their meeting, Mr Lee and Mr Zhou exchanged views on deepening Hong Kong-Fujian co-operation. The Chief Executive said that Fujian, as a forerunner province in the country's reform and opening up, is an important part of China's high-level open economy, with a digital industry that is developing rapidly. He added that Hong Kong enjoys the unique advantage of connecting the Mainland and the world under the "one country, two systems" principle, and is an international financial, trade and shipping centre.

Mr Lee stressed that Hong Kong and Fujian are both important gateways for the country's high-level opening up, and enjoy close economic and trade ties.

He highlighted that Hong Kong has long been the largest source of external investment in Fujian. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's "Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global" supports Mainland enterprises, including those from Fujian, in exploring global business opportunities and reaching overseas markets through leveraging Hong Kong as a springboard.

Mr Lee later attended the High-Level Meeting and Fifth Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Fujian Cooperation Conference, jointly witnessing the signing of multiple co-operation agreements between Hong Kong and Fujian.

The two sides signed a memorandum of co-operation covering finance; civil aviation, maritime transport and logistics; economics, trade and investment; innovation and technology; and legal and dispute resolution.

They also signed six co-operation agreements and memoranda of understanding covering culture and tourism, youth development, finance, economics and trade, and education.

Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki, Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui, Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak, Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Rosanna Law, Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Janice Tse and Director of the Chief Executive's Office Carol Yip also attended the meeting.

Mr Lee said the Hong Kong/Fujian Co-operation Conference mechanism is an important platform for deepening exchanges and co-operation between the two places, and has yielded fruitful results.

He added that he was pleased to witness the deepening of co-operation between Hong Kong and Fujian and is confident the two places will continue to leverage their respective strengths, achieve complementary advantages, and contribute to the country's high-quality development.

​In the evening, Mr Lee attended a dinner hosted by Mr Zhou and later visited a local historical and cultural project, Sanfang Qixiang.

He said that Hong Kong is developing as an East-meets-West centre for international arts and cultural exchanges and attaches great importance to cultural conservation.

He expressed the hope that Hong Kong and Fujian will continue to strengthen cultural and tourism co-operation and jointly promote fine traditional Chinese culture.