Chief Executive John Lee on Friday led a delegation of principal officials and legislators on a visit to other parts of the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

They will first go to Shenzhen before splitting into two groups to make stops in Dongguan and Foshan, before wrapping up their four-day trip in Guangzhou on Monday.

Lee said the official visit to the GBA is the first since the overhaul of the electoral system and the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, adding that the delegation will get a chance to meet with top provincial and city officials.

He added that the trip shows that as patriots administer Hong Kong, both the executive and the legislature are committed to enhancing the level of governance.

“We attach great importance to the development of the Greater Bay Area. We're proactive about it,” he told reporters before leaving the SAR.

“This also shows that we're strengthening the development consensus with cities in the area.”

Legco president Andrew Leung thanked the CE for organising the trip.

"The fact that the Chief Executive arranged this mainland visit so soon after the border reopening shows that this is a great example of good interaction between the executive and the legislature," Leung said.

Lai Tung-kwok from the New People’s Party – one of 84 lawmakers joining the trip – said he looks forward to meeting mainland officials.

“We expect we can have a dialogue with the [Guangdong] government officials and exchange views on how we can integrate better into the [Greater Bay] area,” he said.

Summing up day one of the visit, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said SAR officials and lawmakers were briefed on Shenzhen's achievements in the economic and technological arenas.

"This is a very good opportunity for us to understand more about the achievements made by Shenzhen recently," Chan told reporters after attending a dinner with Shenzhen officials. "I think this is a very good occasion."

The delegation is scheduled to visit the BYD base in Shenzhen on Saturday. BYD is a firm that specializes in the production of automobiles, rechargeable batteries, and buses.
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Last updated: 2023-04-21 HKT 21:15