The event was attended by Chen Tong, Standing Committee Member of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and President of the Shanghai Overseas Friendship Association and Starry Lee, President of the Legislative Council. Also present were Jonathan Choi, the Chamber’s Chairman; Zhang Feng, Executive Vice President of the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce; as well as senior government and business leaders and corporate elites from both cities, who exchanged views on advancing Shanghai-Hong Kong economic and trade collaboration.
Chen Tong: Shanghai and Hong Kong jointly shoulder the national development
Chen noted that Shanghai and Hong Kong share the same origin, cultural affinity and economic integration, with similar historical heritage and urban endowments, shouldering important national development missions together. The two cities enjoy complementary strengths and mutual prosperity in finance, trade, shipping, sci-tech innovation and other sectors. Over the past year, Shanghai-Hong Kong cooperation has yielded fruitful results, with notable progress in financial synergy, joint global expansion, sci-tech integration and cultural exchanges. Moving forward, Shanghai is fully committed to building the “Five Centers”, developing new quality productive forces and expanding opening-up. He expressed the hope that Hong Kong will rally patriotic forces to safeguard its long-term prosperity and stability, and that the two Pearl of the Orient will forge ahead hand in hand to shine even brighter together.
Starry Lee: Shanghai-Hong Kong complementarity empowers enterprises to go global
Lee remarked that Shanghai-Hong Kong cooperation spans over two decades, delivering remarkable achievements in economy and trade, sci-tech innovation, finance and cultural exchanges. Leveraging its R&D advantages and global network, Hong Kong can team up with Shanghai’s strong sci-tech capabilities and complete industrial systems to jointly build platforms for biomedicine, artificial intelligence, fintech and other sectors, driving innovation and industrial chain development. As an offshore hub, Hong Kong can further enhance connectivity with Shanghai to provide capital and professional service platforms for enterprises seeking to go global. The HKSAR Government has integrated the relevant provisions into the five-year plan, and the Legislative Council will facilitate the process by soliciting views. She appealed to all sectors to capitalize on the Shanghai-Hong Kong platform, forge synergies and cultivate a robust ecosystem for overseas expansion.
Jonathan Choi: Aligning with the 15th Five-Year Plan for coordinated opening-up
In his address, Choi pointed out that the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan clearly promotes high-standard opening-up. As a super connector and super value-adder, Hong Kong can join hands with Shanghai to build a one-stop service platform for Chinese Mainland enterprises going global, integrating cross-border scientific research resources and industrial ecosystems. By strengthening financial market connectivity, complementing legal services and establishing a complete shipping governance chain between the two cities, comprehensive support can be provided for Mainland enterprises’ overseas expansion.
Zhang Feng: Jointly building platforms to create a new global expansion ecosystem
Zhang stated that since its launch in 2023, the Shanghai-Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Roundtable has evolved into a signature platform for bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Boasting strengths in advanced manufacturing, sci-tech commercialization and a vast consumer market, Shanghai complements Hong Kong’s edges in global finance, trade, legal services and offshore resources. Such synergy fuels enterprises’ participation in the “Belt and Road” Initiative and regional high-quality development. The Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce will fully utilize the roundtable mechanism to deepen cross-border enterprise cooperation and refine the service system for businesses venturing overseas.
Shanghai and Hong Kong governments offer policy support for global expansion
Officials from the two sides elaborated on practical cooperation pathways at the policy level. Bernard Chan, Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, said Hong Kong maintains close economic and trade ties with Shanghai. The HKSAR Government is formulating its first five-year plan, with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau leading a GoGlobal Task Force to establish a one-stop service platform. Loretta Lee, Assistant Director-General of Invest Hong Kong, noted that Hong Kong is a reliable base for Mainland enterprises to develop new quality productive forces, offering integrated services covering capital markets, scientific research and data. The Northern Metropolis will be developed into an innovation and technology corridor and a high-end logistics hub. Li Chenhao, Secretary of the Baoshan District Committee of Shanghai, said Baoshan is building a modern industrial system featuring leading, distinctive and future-oriented industries, and developing a full-chain mechanism from innovation sourcing to industrial application. He welcomed Hong Kong enterprises to tap into the Chinese Mainland market via Baoshan. Wang Huajie, Secretary of the Songjiang District Committee of Shanghai, emphasized that Songjiang is the birthplace of the Yangtze River Delta G60 Sci-Tech Innovation Corridor and a hub for advanced manufacturing. He invited Hong Kong enterprises to leverage Songjiang’s innovation ecosystem to jointly explore global markets.
Multiple cooperation achievements unveiled and shared
A ceremony was held to release and showcase a host of Shanghai-Hong Kong cooperation achievements. The Shanghai Enterprises Overseas Cooperation Alliance has partnered with the Chamber and major Hong Kong chambers of commerce to provide all-round support for enterprises going global. The Chamber and the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce, together with CITIC Bank International, signed a memorandum of understanding on cross-border financial strategic cooperation to further deepen Shanghai-Hong Kong financial connectivity. In addition, 21 Shanghai and Hong Kong institutions reached ten cooperation agreements across eight areas, covering sci-tech innovation, industry-university-research collaboration, environmental agriculture, finance and insurance, and robotics.
Professional dialogue focuses on full-chain global expansion
The roundtable featured a thematic dialogue session with cross-sector exchanges covering legal, financial and taxation services, as well as practical sharing by sci-tech enterprises. The session was moderated by Andrew Yao, the Chamber’s Vice-Chairman.
On professional services, Ernest Yang, Partner and Co-Head of the International Arbitration Practice in Asia Pacific at DLA Piper, said as the world’s third-largest financial arbitration center, Hong Kong advises Chinese enterprises to strengthen intellectual property protection when expanding overseas. Robert Lee, the Chamber’s Vice-Chairman, noted that Hong Kong can provide diversified financial services including listing, private equity and mergers and acquisitions for Mainland enterprises. Patrick Tsang, Senior Partner of Deloitte China, pointed out that Hong Kong’s mature professional ecosystem can fully understand Mainland enterprises’ needs and deliver tailored cross-border support.
Sci-tech enterprise representatives shared practical experience from an operational perspective. Liu Yanjun, Chairman of Shanghai Bao Pharmaceuticals, said the company adopts a "China-US/Europe" global expansion strategy, and recognizes Hong Kong’s comprehensive support in regulatory compliance and clinical operations. Wang Bing, Founder of the Shanghai Humanoid Robot Innovation Incubator, said humanoid robotics should focus on rigid demand scenarios, and Hong Kong can serve as a critical bridge for AI enterprises in financing and capital flow. Li Fei, Chairman of Zhefu Intelligent Systems, added that as a super connector, Hong Kong offers strong backing for Mainland enterprises in tackling trade barriers and protecting intellectual property rights.
A luncheon networking session followed the forum. Johnny Yu, Charles Cheung, Li Yinquan, Kevin Fan and Jennifer Yeung, the Chamber’s Vice-Chairmen, together with Standing Committee Members and Committee Members, as well as political and business representatives from Shanghai and Hong Kong, engaged in further exchanges and connection.
