On January 4, the 2024 GBA iForum and Banquet opened in Dongguan, bringing together business leaders from Dongguan and Hong Kong to seize new opportunities presented on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and to work together to write a new chapter for Dongguan-Hong Kong cooperation. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, President of the Legislative Council Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, Secretary of the CPC Dongguan Municipal Committee Xiao Yafei, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Dongguan Municipal Committee and the Mayor of the Dongguan Municipal Government Lyu Chengxi, Director General of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People's Government of Guangdong Province Li Huanchun, and some other municipal leaders including Chen Zhiwei, Liu Guangbin, Xing Wenju and Luo Bin, attended the grand event.
In his address, Chief Executive of HKSAR John Lee said, "This year marks the 5th anniversary of the release of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Today's summit is a timely gathering of business leaders coming together to discuss the development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. Dongguan, known for its advanced manufacturing capabilities, is becoming a hub for innovation and development of the service sector in the Greater Bay Area. Dongguan has a close relationship with Hong Kong, with over 8,000 Hong Kong-funded enterprises currently operating here. Hong Kong will continue to play the role of a “super connector” and a “super value-adder", linking the Greater Bay Area with the global market, and assisting the region in developing towards high technology and high value-added sectors. Both enterprises and entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, Dongguan, and the entire Greater Bay Area are dynamic and passionate about promoting multi-faceted cooperation between Dongguan and Hong Kong, illustrating the limitless cooperative space and prospects for mutual benefit between Dongguan and Hong Kong. With confidence, I believe that with our joint efforts, Hong Kong and Dongguan will achieve mutual success, reaching new peaks every day and every year." He also mentioned that this year's "A Thousand Guests Banquet" has seen the highest participation rate ever, and he hopes the event will become even more popular, transforming into a "Ten Thousand Guests Banquet".
Secretary of the CPC Dongguan Municipal Committee Xiao Yafei, on behalf of the CPC Dongguan Municipal Committee, the Dongguan Municipal Government, and all citizens of the whole city, extended a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the Hong Kong compatriots and enterprises. He stated that at the beginning of the new year, Dongguan ushered in this significant Bay Area-level event, with nearly a thousand elites from the Hong Kong SAR Government, the Legislative Council, and the business circles visiting Dongguan, and their presence brought a fresh atmosphere and injected new vitality into this city of over ten million people. He also said, “Since the reform and opening up, a large number of Hong Kong-funded enterprises and Hong Kong residents returning to their hometown for investment and entrepreneurship have brought new industries, technologies and management experiences to Dongguan's industrial development, making important and unique contributions to the industrialization and urbanization of Dongguan. In the context of the GBA’s robust development, Dongguan-Hong Kong cooperation has immense potential and prospects.” Mr. Xiao hopes that Hong Kong businesses will continue to pay close attention to, invest in, and root themselves in Dongguan, while Dongguan will, as always, uphold the tradition of providing one-stop service to Hong Kong businesses, create a first-class business environment, offer stronger support for the development and expansion of Hong Kong businesses and enterprises in Dongguan, and provide comprehensive and thoughtful services for Hong Kong compatriots living and working in Dongguan.
Mr. Lyu Chengxi, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Dongguan Municipal Committee and Mayor of Dongguan Municipal Government remarked, “The Dongguan-Hong Kong development showcases the best example of mutual benefits and integration. Dongguan, a globally renowned manufacturing city, is home to over 210,000 industrial enterprises, among which nearly 14,000 are above designated size and more than 10,000 are national high-tech enterprises. Dongguan possesses ample resources to harness and convert Hong Kong's technological accomplishments, thereby catering to the developmental requirements of Hong Kong enterprises. With the continuous advancement of the Greater Bay Area construction, there will be promising prospects for collaboration between both regions. I hope that this event will serve as a catalyst to consistently leverage the strengths of both regions, fostering economic and trade cooperation, technological innovation, cultural exchange, and further reinforcing cooperation to contribute to China's modernization efforts.”
It is learned that this year’s event is themed "Innovation Meets Smart Manufacturing: Uniting Hong Kong and Dongguan on a Journey to GBA’s Infinite Possibilities”. Experts and scholars, focusing on the foresight of Hong Kong's scientific and industrial development in the Greater Bay Area, reconvened to deliberate on topics such as promoting the development of the science and technology industry and enhancing the competitiveness in finance and intelligent technology. This forum holds significant importance as representatives from various sectors joined together to share and exchange views on emerging opportunities presented on GBA’s development.
At the dinner banquet, a series of important Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the business community of Hong Kong and relevant organizations and departments in the Greater Bay Area, and inauguration ceremony for the new term of the Pearl River Delta Council under the Federation of Hong Kong Industries (PRD Council) was also held. During the event, Xiao Yafei and Lyu Chengxi met with John Lee and his delegation, and both sides had in-depth discussions on strengthening all-around cooperation between Dongguan and Hong Kong and advancing the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
