Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang has urged Hong Kong to make good use of its advantages and to continue to safeguard national security, according to SAR delegates of the nation’s top political advisory body.

Ding on Thursday held talks with Hong Kong and Macau delegates of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on the sidelines of the ongoing "Two Sessions" in Beijing.

The vice premier, who's also a Politburo Standing Committee member, urged Hong Kong to be confident and capitalise on its strengths.

“Hong Kong has a unique position of enjoying strong support of the country and being connected to the world,” he said.

Delegates from the SAR said after the 90-minute meeting that national security was one of the topics of discussion.

CPPCC member Ko Wing-man said the vice premier praised Hong Kong for completing Article 23 legislation of the Basic Law last year, while stressing that the city should not lower its guard.

“There are still many internal and external forces which want to mess around, in terms of national security or the One Country, Two Systems,” Ko quoted Ding as saying.

“Therefore, we have to be highly vigilant, and achieve a good balance between development and safeguarding security.”

Another focus of the meeting was the trade and technology wars between China and the United States, according to CPPCC delegate and lawmaker William Wong.

“He (Ding) said that the situation will not slow down. It will continue to be a bit stiff. But we should be confident in ourselves and Hong Kong should work together with the central government to advance technology and to go international,” Wong said.

Another CPPCC delegate, Pansy Ho, said the vice premier highly recognised Hong Kong’s efforts in boosting the economy, saying it was stable and showed improvement in the past year.

Ho also said Ding urged Hong Kong to work closely with nearby cities, such as those in the Greater Bay Area.

“Because of the close proximity and also now, the possibility of us really capitalising on the various components that each of these cities possesses, we can create a much stronger base for development,” she said.

“We do not have to see Hong Kong as a standalone. We need to work on how we utilise best to our advantage, how to collaborate with cities around us.”

The director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia Baolong, and CPPCC vice-chairman and former Hong Kong chief executive CY Leung were also present at the meeting.