China’s 14th five-year plan to usher HK to golden opportunities: CE Lam

The plan provides support in enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international financial hub, amongst others.

China’s 14th five-year plan is expected to open major opportunities for Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said.

She noted this is the third time Hong Kong has been covered in the five-year plan since returning to China. It has previously been included under the 12th and 13th five-year plan.

“Every word in the National Five-Year Plan carries enormous weight. I believe everyone agrees that the National 14th Five-Year Plan will bring to Hong Kong vitality and golden opportunities,” Lam said.

“Other than the content of the Plan, the drafting process of the National 14th Five-Year Plan has left me much impressed.”

She noted that the plan, for one, pushed for the development of Hong Kong that is closely connected with China. The Central Government also showed support for Hong Kong.

She made the statement during the talk, themed “Actively Seizing the Opportunities of the National 14th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong to Proactively Integrate into the Country's Overall Development.”

The talk was attended by over 200 guests including a delegation, led by Deputy Director Huang Liuquan of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.

“Today, I am very confident in the HKSAR's implementation of the National 14th Five-Year Plan,” she said. "This is because, with the support of the Central Government, the overall situation of the HKSAR has witnessed fundamental positive development in the past year or so.”

The National 14th Five-Year Plan was approved at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress on 11 March 2021.

It established a clear positioning for Hong Kong's future development, covering three major development directions from political, economic, and social perspectives.

The plan also raised for the first time its support for Hong Kong in four emerging sectors, namely supporting to enhance the city’s status as an international aviation hub and develop into an international innovation and technology hub, a regional intellectual property trading centre, and a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

It also mentions the support for high-quality Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development.