Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday she is heading a delegation of senior officials on a four-day visit in China to seek policies in support of the local economy hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Lam has put off her annual policy address scheduled for last month until after her meetings with mainland Chinese officials to allow time to negotiate for economic initiatives.
"I'm going to Beijing to meet with the relevant ministries and commissions to talk about the things that we have been doing in integrating into the mainland economy, and what more the central government could support us in," she said, citing as examples "financial services, aviation and the various innovation and technology initiatives."
Other areas of focus include lifting of quarantine requirements for travelers crossing the border and Hong Kong's participation in the establishment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, comprising the two special administrative regions and the nine Chinese municipalities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing.
"We still have quite a number of support measures under the Greater Bay Area that we would like to confirm as soon as possible and have those implemented as soon as possible," Lam said, adding that the policy address will likely be announced on Nov. 25 with or without the support measures coming.
Lam will stay in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, and visit Guangdong Province, including Shenzhen, on Saturday before returning to Hong Kong.
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