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Chairman's Message
Chairman's Message - MOVING FORWARD AS ONE FOR A BETTER FUTURE

Dr Jonathan CHOI Koon-shum (Chairman of the 51st terms of office) November 2018

 

Hong Kong’s business community and society should make good use of the convenience brought by these infrastructure projects and capture the opportunities from regional cooperation to open up new space for Hong Kong’s long-term development.

 

In recent months, Hong Kong ushered in two high-profile events. Firstly, the much-awaited Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) commenced operation in September. Secondly, President Xi Jinping announced the opening of another state-level project, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), at an opening ceremony held in Zhuhai in October. The completion of these two epoch-making infrastructure projects will further realize Hong Kong’s seamless connection with Pearl River Delta (PRD) cities, playing a positive role to deepen interconnection of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area (Bay Area) and promote Hong Kong’s full integration into the country’s overall development. Hong Kong’s business community and society should make good use of the convenience brought by these infrastructure projects and capture the opportunities from regional cooperation to open up new space for Hong Kong’s long-term development.

 

Election of CGCC’s new Board of Directors concluded successfully last month. With the full support of our members, I am honored to serve as Chairman for another term. In the next two years, members of the new Board and I will do our utmost to assist all CGCC members and the business community at large to cope with various challenges, playing a bridging role to further Hong Kong’s economic development in tandem with the country’s pace of reform and opening up to go through with CGCC’s orientation of “taking roots in Hong Kong, gaining support from the Motherland and reaching out to the world” and to implement the vision of “establishing prosperous Hong Kong, integrating with development of the Motherland and exploring business opportunities towards the world”.

 

Laying the foundation for Bay Area development

In fact, the opening of the Hong Kong section of the XRL provides a faster and more convenient option for the Hong Kong public to travel to and from the Mainland while the co-location arrangement helps maximize the XRL’s effectiveness. Hong Kong is now seamlessly integrated with the Bay Area to reap the greatest benefits of regional economic cooperation and development.

 

In addition, the HZMB provides direct land link between the east and west parts of the PRD, which helps facilitate the smooth flow of passengers and goods between Hong Kong, Macau and the Mainland. The HZMB also helps create a huge synergy by better connecting airports in Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau for swift cross-border passenger and cargo traffic between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau to develop a “three-hour economic circle”.

 

“Lantau Tomorrow Vision” to overcome development bottlenecks

The “Lantau Tomorrow Vision” unveiled in this year’s Policy Address is the largest development project since Hong Kong’s reunification with the motherland. By providing massive land to tie in with the proposed transport infrastructure system connecting Hong Kong Island’s business district in the east, Chek Lap Kok Airport in the west, and New Territories West in the north, the project is an important engine to drive Hong Kong’s future economic growth and the organic combination of the Bay Area’s cluster of cities.

 

Working together to turn vision into reality

Faced with the ever-changing global political and economic situations, especially the pressure on business operations due to the escalating Sino-US trade frictions, the new Board will continue to uphold CGCC’s fine traditions to actively support the HKSAR Government in implementing various blueprints, plans and policy measures that are conducive to Hong Kong’s long-term development. We will also assist CGCC members and the business community to participate in the country’s overall development of deepening reform and opening up and promoting regional cooperation. As a Chinese chamber of commerce, CGCC is committed to serving the Hong Kong business community, the country, and Chinese entrepreneurs around the world.