Reception center to promote Zhejiang-HK exchange, cooperation

Zhejiang's provincial political advisory body on March 27 launched a platform in Hong Kong to promote exchange and cooperation between the province and the SAR.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the reception center, Chairperson of the Zhejiang provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Ge Huijun said the center provides the venue for CPPCC Zhejiang committee members from Hong Kong to meet and exchange ideas.

The center can also serve as a bridge linking committee members, the city's residents and different sectors, helping the province's political advisers hear different voices and perform their duties, Ge added.

Looking back, Hong Kong residents of Zhejiang origin have been playing crucial roles to deepen all-round cooperation between the two places and help the province's economic development, she added.

About 300,000 residents in Hong Kong are of Zhejiang origin, including 215 serving as members of the CPPCC committees at different levels in the coastal province.

The newly established center will organize themed seminars or lectures, and keep committee members from Hong Kong informed of the provincial government's latest policies. It will also help increase their knowledge of economic and social development in Zhejiang.

Regular events will also be held monthly at the center to solicit ideas from the city's residents.

William Lee Tak-lun, member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC Zhejiang committee, in his speech thanked the CPPCC Zhejiang committee for their help in setting up the center.

Lee said the center is the home of all members of the CPPCC committees in Zhejiang.

In future, it will work hard to push Zhejiang and Hong Kong forward, he noted.

Moreover, Lee revealed the first lecture in April will focus on financial collaboration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

After attending the opening ceremony, Rock Chen Chung-nin, member of the CPPCC National Committee, urged CPPCC members to make the most of the platform. "They should also offer policymaking advice based on their understanding of issues."

The reception center's first lecture followed the opening ceremony. Ge, the lecturer, discussed the 2019 national two sessions and Zhejiang's development blueprint.