On September 10, the 10th "Belt and Road" Summit Forum was grandly opened at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. This forum lasts for two days, with the theme of "Cooperation to seek change and build the future together", more than 90 major officials and senior business personnel from multiple "Belt and Road" countries and regions participated to seek new opportunities for cooperation and create a new win-win future.

On September 10, the 10th "Belt and Road" Summit Forum opened in Hong Kong.

A reporter from Nandu N Video learned at the forum that on the first day of this forum, the organizers promoted 33 memorandums of cooperation and agreements, covering multiple fields such as infrastructure, finance and technology, and the projects cover countries and regions such as Australia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

In his speech, Hong Kong Chief Executive Li Jiachao said that the trade volume between Hong Kong and the "Belt and Road" countries exceeded US$276 billion last year, an increase of about 80% since 2013. About 1,400 companies from the Belt and Road countries have set up bases in Hong Kong to seize these opportunities.

On September 10, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Li Jiachao delivered a speech at the 10th "Belt and Road" Summit Forum. (Photo/Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government News Office)

Li Jiachao said that at present, Hong Kong has signed free trade agreements with 14 Belt and Road countries, investment agreements with about 20 Belt and Road economies, and signed a comprehensive double taxation agreement with 37 Belt and Road countries and regions.

In his speech, Li Jiachao revealed that this forum will focus on promoting the northern metropolitan area of ​​Hong Kong, which will soon be developed into a center of science and technology innovation. Staff introduced to Nandu N video that the northern metropolitan area will pilot the "district development" model. The SAR government plans to select land of a certain scale, including commercial land and public facility land for market bidding.

The development of transportation in the new district is the first step. It is worth noting that the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Railway (Hongshuiqiao to Qianhai) connecting the northern metropolitan area is jointly promoted by Hong Kong and Shenzhen, with the goal of carrying out project survey and design in 2025. I believe that the development of relevant regions will also attract the attention of all exhibitors.

The forum attracted a large number of exhibitors to enter.

In his welcome speech at the forum, Hong Kong Trade Development Council Chairman Ma Shiheng said that as an important cornerstone of supporting the "Belt and Road" initiative, the forum has gathered political and business people from countries and regions of the "Belt and Road" in the past decade, promoted multi-party dialogue and cooperation, and established a number of important partnerships.

Against the backdrop of global economic instability, how companies can seize opportunities in the face of changes has become the key. The organizer set up a policy dialogue session, with the theme of "Controlling Changes and Creating the Future Together", hosted by Qiu Yinghua, Director of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Senior officials from Malaysia, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia, jointly analyzed the latest policies and development opportunities of the "Belt and Road" and discussed cross-regional economic cooperation.

Enterprises participating in the construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative will set up stalls on site.

In addition, the guests also discussed the latest development and cooperation potential of industries such as infrastructure construction, financial investment, digital economy and green energy resources in ASEAN with the theme of "New Opportunities for Development and Cooperation in ASEAN".

Project and trade docking is an important part of the forum, and the "Belt and Road" initiative is transformed into actual economic cooperation. The forum has set up two new key projects of the "Belt and Road" this year, aiming to promote Hong Kong's professional services and enterprises to participate in major infrastructure projects of the "Belt and Road" and promote regional cooperation and economic development. Related links include Thailand's "Eastern Economic Corridor" and "Middle East and ASEAN Markets".

In addition to the forum, there is also an exhibition area. Among them, this forum established the "ASEAN Zone" for the first time, focusing on the latest projects in multiple fields of the 10 ASEAN member states. In addition, the "Mainland Special Zone" covers the latest achievements in the Mainland in infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and digital economy.

The forum has a special area for service trade in mainland China.

In fact, the development opportunities of the "Belt and Road" have also received more and more attention from Hong Kong's high-end tertiary industry. This week, international accounting firm Ernst & Young released the report "Hong Kong jointly builds the Belt and Road Initiative": From Super Contact Person to Value Chain Value Adders", reviewing Hong Kong's key achievements and strategic evolution in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative.

Chen Kai, Chairman of Ernst & Young China and CEO of Greater China, told Nandu N Video reporter that Hong Kong has been deeply involved in national strategies and actively promoted the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", and has evolved from a participant to a key promoter and value-added person. Hong Kong's core competitiveness lies in its ability to seamlessly align and efficiently transform its unique advantages with its own unique advantages.

He pointed out that in the future, Hong Kong will continue to give full play to the institutional advantages of "one country, two systems", leverage the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area platform, connect mainland resources and international markets, promote the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy, and deepen connectivity with the Middle East, ASEAN, Eurasia, Latin America and other regions.

Interview/Photography: Nandu N Video reporter Xiao Yao from Hong Kong