Related stories

Two Pillars for one Symposium Super Ministries: "One Department Handling One Thing" "One Team" and "One Vision" for Tang One in Five of City's Under-sevens Obese Line 5, Main Artery Connecting the North and South

Two Main Topics, One Symposium

Cultural industries and the 2008 Olympic Games will get most of the attention at the annual Beijing–Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium that opened on November 15 in Hong Kong, the tenth in the series since Hong Kong was returned to Chinese sovereignty.

The November 15–16 event will explore business opportunities between Beijing and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) made possible by the Hong Kong–Chinese Mainland Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), a landmark free-trade pact between the Chinese mainland and the HKSAR that was signed by Premier Wen Jiabao on June 30, 2003. With the CEPA’s Supplement III, which was announced on June 29, 2006 (effective in January 2007), an additional 37 Hong Kong-made products were added to the zero tariff list, raising the total number to 1,407, adding to the potential for trade between Beijing and the HKSAR.

Official statistics indicate that by the end of June 2006, 8,370 HKSAR enterprises had established offices in Beijing, with a real investment of US$7.68 billion, which ranks it first on the list of nations and regions that have invested in Beijing. Sixty-three Beijing enterprises have established branches in Hong Kong, with a total investment of US$290 million. The trade volume between Beijing and HKSAR has soared to US$4 billion, with a year-on-year increase of 94.3 percent in 2005.

As the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing is trying to persuade investors to seek their share of Olympic gold in China’s capital, but Hong Kong will have its own slice of the Olympic pie since it is a co-host of the Games as the host city for the Beijing Olympic Games’ equestrian events. Beijing and Hong Kong have both pledged to hold high-level and characteristic Games events and both are investing heavily in the Games to benefit their communities and China.

The symposium’s agenda will include bilateral cooperation involving mutual benefit; seminars on cultural creativity industry cooperation, using Hong Kong’s experience as a reference in topics that cover movie production and the fashion industry; and seminars on logistics cooperation, finance and tourism.