Mrs. Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, attended the Executive Council meeting at the government headquarters on September 21, 2021. During a media session before the meeting, she disclosed that she would visit Chongqing, Chengdu of Sichuan Province, and Xi'an of Shaanxi Province from September 22 to 28. In her visits to these cities, she will attend such events as the High-Level Meeting cum Second Plenary of the Hong Kong-Sichuan Co-operation Conference, the Closing Ceremony of the 14th National Games, etc.

A delegation led by Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, arrived in Chengdu on September 22. (Photo/ Sichuan Observation)

Planning to visit Chongqing on the 24th, she said, "Chongqing is a major place and the only centrally administered municipality that I have never been to since I took up the post. During my journey in the western region this time, I decided to go directly to Chongqing from Chengdu, meeting with Chongqing's municipal officials and visiting some of the important projects invested and operated by Hong Kong."

The economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between Chongqing and Hong Kong have been further deepened in recent years. Data from Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce show that the import-export amount between Chongqing and Hong Kong from January to June this year totaled 31.402 billion yuan, a surge of 137.2% year on year. Hong Kong accounts for 55.9% of Chongqing's capital from regions outside the Chinese mainland, and enterprises funded by Hong Kong are participants, promoters, and witnesses of Chongqing's reform and opening-up. They have played a unique and crucial role in improving Chongqing's urban appearance and expanding the city's opening-up.

According to data from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Chengdu, there are more than 3,000 enterprises invested by Hong Kong in Chongqing, demonstrating the close relationship between the two places. By the end of 2020, the total number of Hong Kong-funded projects in Chongqing exceeded 3,200, with the actual investment topping 430 billion yuan. Besides, Hong Kong is also an important trading partner of Chongqing. As of late 2020, 14 enterprises funded by Chongqing had been listed in Hong Kong, with the total market value exceeding five billion U.S. dollars; they had raised over 4.2 billion U.S. dollars in the initial public offering, with a total financing amount of more than six billion U.S. dollars.