At the opening ceremony of the Chain Expo, Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of the State Council, attended and delivered a keynote speech, emphasizing that with the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, maintaining the stability and smooth operation of international industry and supply chains has become a common challenge for countries worldwide. As a responsible major country, China does not deliberately pursue trade surpluses but actively expands imports to share market opportunities with all parties and promote balanced trade development. 

 

Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), hosted the opening ceremony. He stated that in the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, this Chain Expo will further promote international cooperation in industry and supply chains. CCPIT, together with business representatives from participating countries, jointly released the Beijing Initiative of the 4th China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo, committed to building closer partnerships.

 

Choi was invited to deliver a keynote speech at the APEC Forum on the topic “Digital Innovation Empowering New Growth in the Asia-Pacific Economy”. He believes that artificial intelligence (AI) and the digital economy are the major directions for future development. He specifically pointed out that Hong Kong is fully promoting the “industrialization of AI and AI-ization of industries”, and is actively facilitating the connectivity of computing power between the Mainland and Hong Kong to build a strong “AI Bay Area”. He also emphasized that Hong Kong should better align with the national 15th Five-Year Plan through “mutual empowerment of finance and innovation technology”, leveraging its unique advantages such as the common law system, international talent and low tax regime, to lead the Greater Bay Area’s capital and partners in exploring new international patterns.

To support Hong Kong’s development as an international innovation and technology hub, the Chamber, together with the CCPIT Hong Kong Sub-council, the Hong Kong Productivity Council and other organizations, co-organized the “2026 Mainland-Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Cooperation Exchange Conference”. 

 

During the visit to Beijing, the delegation made a special visit to the “Hong Kong Pavilion” organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and other major exhibition areas to gain in-depth understanding of the latest practices of Hong Kong-funded enterprises in multinational supply chain management and digital payments. (21-24/6)