Chongqing - Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and her colleagues visited Chongqing from the 24th to the 26th, September. This is her first visit to Chongqing since taking office as the chief executive, aiming to further strengthen exchanges between Chongqing and Hong Kong.
Carrie Lam (M) seeing the night view with Mayor Tang Liangzhi (L), photo by Tang Anbing
On the 25th, Carrie Lam visited Chongqing the Ring Shopping Mall, China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI), Chongqing Lijia Smart Park, Chongqing Planning Exhibition Hall, Hongyan Revolution Memorial Hall to learn about Chongqing’s culture, service, trade, intelligent manufacturing, and smart city development, industrial Internet, etc.
Carrie Lam visited the Chongqing Planning Exhibition Hall, photo by Rui Hu/iChongqing
The economic, trade, and cultural exchanges between Chongqing and Hong Kong have a long history, which can be traced back to the War of Resistance. Hong Kong is not only the largest source of foreign investment in Chongqing but also an important trading market for Chongqing.
In the first half of 2021, the import and export volume between Chongqing and Hong Kong reached RMB 31.402 billion, a year-on-year increase of 137.2%. As of June 2021, Chongqing has established a total of more than 3,200 Hong Kong foreign-invested enterprises, and the actual use of foreign capital is nearly 70 billion U.S. dollars. Hong Kong investment accounts for nearly 56% of Chongqing's total use of foreign capital. Currently, Chongqing has 17 listed companies in Hong Kong with a total market value of RMB 265.2 billion. The Hong Kong bond market financing of Chongqing enterprises accounts for two-thirds of the total amount of Chongqing's overseas corporate bonds and is the main market for Chongqing enterprises' overseas financing.
As China's youngest municipality directly under the Central Government, Chongqing is speeding up its construction of "opening-up highlands" and "a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters."
On the evening of the 24th, Carrie Lam visited the night scene at Jiangbeizui, where the Yangtze River and Jialing River intersect, and overlooked Chaotianmen Wharf and Hongyadong. Seeing these landmarks, Carrie Lam watched the bright lights of Chongqing’s Yuzhong Peninsula and recalled the scene of taking a boat across the Three Gorges to Wuhan 40 years ago and docking at the Chaotianmen Wharf. Seeing the changes in Chongqing over the 4 decades, "amazing", she said.