Chief Executive John Lee on Thursday said Hong Kong and neighbouring Shenzhen would work together to attract international talents and enterprises, as he hailed the opportunities presented by collaboration with nearby cities under the central government's Greater Bay Area initiative.

Speaking by video link at a conference on the Greater Bay Area initiative, Lee cited Xi Jinping's speech on his visit to the SAR on July 1, in which the president stressed Beijing's support for Hong Kong's distinctive status and advantages and encouraged it to make the most of its role in national development.

"As one of the core cities of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong will leverage our highly market-oriented and internationalised business environment, our well-developed professional service sectors, as well as our status as an international financial, trade and shipping centre to join hands with the other Greater Bay Area cities in developing a world-class city cluster for living, travelling and working," Lee said.

Lee told the conference that Hong Kong, as the world's freest economy, remained the "ideal gateway" for connecting international investors to the mainland and helping channel funds from the mainland to global markets.

He cited initiatives including plans for technological cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen based around the San Tin Technopole in the SAR's Northern Metropolis development. Lee said the two cities were also teaming up in an effort to attract both talent and businesses.

"In addition to building the necessary infrastructure, Hong Kong and Shenzhen have launched a joint policy package to attract talents and enterprises around the world," Lee said. "This will facilitate our participation in the development of a world-class innovation and technology hub in the Greater Bay Area."

Lee also said culture was an area ripe for collaboration, saying Hong Kong would endeavour to develop the West Kowloon arts hub as the cultural hub of the Greater Bay Area and "our country's premier venue for exhibiting cultural relics and artworks".