Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday that he's all for his ministers reaching out to the community and explaining their work, including to the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.

The head of the office, Xia Baolong, made a three-day visit to the Greater Bay Area earlier this month and met with some of the SAR's ministers, when Lee was in Harbin attending the Asian Winter Games.

Speaking before the weekly Executive Council meeting, the CE said Xia is a busy leader, and that he and the top mainland official maintain good communication.

"I also support my ministers in doing their work in their own right... I support them in explaining issues to different people and reporting their work to the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, especially in explaining their specific portfolio to Director Xia personally.

"This precisely reflects my demands for different ministers to do their own part, taking charge of their responsibilities in resolving problems.

"And at the same time, there's synergy among the team, united as one, complementing one another in handling problems."

Lee said he wanted to once again thank Xia for pointing the way forward for Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said Xia exchanged views with a number of SAR government officials on how Hong Kong will speed up reform and better integrate into the Greater Bay Area's development. During his trip, he visited the Hetao Innovation and Technology Cooperation Zone, as well as Qianhai and Yantian.