Financial Secretary Paul Chan today continued his visit to Xi’an, where he called on CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee Secretary Zhao Yide, and toured a university and a high-tech zone.

Mr Chan and Mr Zhao held an in-depth exchange of views on further strengthening Shaanxi-Hong Kong co-operation.

The finance chief said the two places can deepen co-operation in areas such as innovation, research and development, commercialisation of research outcomes, the cultivation of innovative enterprises, and financing for listings, as well as talent exchanges and higher education.

He invited Xi’an enterprises to send delegations to visit Hong Kong, connect with Hong Kong enterprises and the investment community, and explore further co-operation.

In the morning, Mr Chan visited Northwestern Polytechnical University, where he met the university’s President Prof Song Baowei. He held a discussion session with innovation and technology enterprises, and spoke to more than 200 teachers, students and alumni.

The Financial Secretary said that globalisation is shifting from an “efficiency first” model to one that places equal emphasis on “efficiency and resilience”, with supply chain security, self-reliance in core technologies, and cross-boundary regulation becoming key considerations.

Mr Chan remarked that Hong Kong’s capital, talent and professional services can help to connect Xi’an’s technological achievements with international markets. He described this model in terms of “Xi’an research & development, Hong Kong empowerment, global application”.

In the afternoon, Mr Chan toured the Xi’an High-tech Industries Development Zone, which focuses on industries such as electronic information, high-end equipment, new energy and new materials.

Mr Chan’s delegation visited enterprises engaged in advanced energy storage, optoelectronic integration, metal additive manufacturing, and high-end equipment inspection and testing, and learnt about these companies’ progress in frontier technology research and development, and industrialisation.

He also held a discussion session with representatives of 25 enterprises in the zone. They discussed hard technology innovation, facilitating deeper integration among academia, research and industry, and expanding co-operation between Shaanxi and Hong Kong in areas such as technology and innovation, finance and professional services.

During the session, a number of enterprises expressed strong interest in accessing international capital through Hong Kong and expanding into overseas markets.

Mr Chan urged them to come to Hong Kong for fundraising and financing, global expansion, technology research and development, and advanced manufacturing.