The 6th "Belt and Road" Summit Forum Opens Opportunities for Multilateral Cooperation

Hong Kong Victoria Harbor. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Shen

The 6th "Belt and Road" Summit Forum co-organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council was held online on 1st, September 2021. Participants from all over the world gathered at the forum to discuss the opportunities brought by multilateral cooperation among countries and regions along the “Belt and Road” under the pandemic.

For many years, Hong Kong has been playing a unique role in the construction of the “Belt and Road”. Gao Yunlong, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the China Federation of Industry and Commerce, delivered an opening keynote speech at the forum. He said that the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the 2035 long-term goal outline proposes to support Hong Kong in building a functional platform for the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", which fully reflects the trust and support of the central government in Hong Kong. He believes that Hong Kong, the Oriental Pearl, will become more and more dazzling in the future.

Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that the value of multilateral trade is becoming more and more important with the spreading of global protectionism. The construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), which have huge potentials, are bound to go hand in hand with the "Belt and Road" initiative to promote the various benefits of multilateral trade.

Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce, stated in his speech that the Ministry of Commerce will actively promote and support Hong Kong's integration into the overall national development to participate in the domestic cycle, support Hong Kong to play an important channel role, and support Hong Kong's wider participation in regional economic cooperation to create new space for international cooperation.

Hao Peng, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said that the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, invited by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, organized 41 central enterprises to participate in various activities of this forum. Everyone will take “Belt and Road” initiative as an opportunity to facilitate cooperation and achieve win-win results. The high-quality construction of the "Belt and Road" promotes Hong Kong to achieve more practical results under the regional and international cooperation.

The Special Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, Liu Guangyuan, said that the “Belt and Road” Initiative has helped Hong Kong's expansion of foreign cooperation and brought new opportunities to Hong Kong. The Commissioner’s Office will help the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to participate in the construction of the “Belt and Road” in an all-round way, provide services for all walks of life in Hong Kong to invest in countries along the “Belt and Road”, and provide a bridge between Hong Kong and mainland enterprises in participating in the “Belt and Road”.

Ning Jizhe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, believes that the fundamentals of China's long-term economic development is positive, and China is reaching deeper levels of opening. Backed by the motherland, Hong Kong is an important witness, participant, contributor, and beneficiary of the country’s development. Hongkong is bound to further enhance its international competitiveness and achieve better and greater development in participating in and contributing to the high-quality construction of the “Belt and Road”.

Lin Jianyue, Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, introduced that in this forum, political and business leaders shared how to use the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and RCEP to capture opportunities in countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”. At the same time, the industry can use the forum to learn about the latest developments in the market and how to use Hong Kong's advantages to maximize its potential.

The Hong Kong "Belt and Road" Summit Forum is an important functional platform in the field of "Belt and Road" cooperation. During the forum, the Ministry of Commerce and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government signed the "Memorandum of Cooperation on Promoting the High-quality Development of Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones."

Source: <https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1709731954782429786&wfr=spider&for=pc>

Translated by LiWei