A top cultural official says Hong Kong must make use of its unique geopolitical advantages to bring East and West together, as he vowed to develop the West Kowloon Cultural District into a cultural hub in the Greater Bay Area.

Henry Tang, the chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District, made the comments on the sidelines of the “two sessions” gatherings of the country's top political bodies in Beijing.

“Hong Kong’s art and cultural sector has been tasked with the 14th Five Year Plan to be an East and West cultural exchange centre," he said. "In order to fulfill the assignment given to us, the West Kowloon Cultural district will play a very important role together with the SAR government."

Tang said he was looking to lure more mainland visitors to the district by building closer ties with the rest of the Greater Bay Area, although no details have been given of what these might involve.

He also floated the idea of organising a large-scale summit to boost the SAR’s status as an international arts and cultural hub.

“It tells the world more than just ‘Hong Kong is back’, but we’re also doing more than that in arts and culture," he said. "It shows to the world that with our dedication and devotion, we will be able to make Hong Kong a world-class art and cultural destination, similar to London, New York and Paris.”

Tang, who's also a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Standing Committee member, expressed confidence that arts and cultural businesses will surpass pre-pandemic levels very soon.