Chief Executive John Lee said on Thursday that he led a government delegation to visit an optics firm founded by a late Hong Kong entrepreneur in Ningbo, where he also met with the city's leaders and entrepreneurs.

Last year, President Xi Jinping wrote a letter to Hong Kong entrepreneurs of Ningbo descent, encouraging them to play a proactive role in the SAR's integration into the country's reform.

Lee wrote on social media that a visit to the late businessman Chao Kuang-piu's company showed the entrepreneurial spirit of using industrial output to benefit the country, from the firm's microscopic equipment to optical components for use in space.

"The President's kind encouragement to the 'Ningbo Group' conveys the nation's cordial wishes and expectations for entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, while fully affirming their contributions to the development of the country and their hometowns," he said.

The CE added that his delegation had tea with entrepreneurs in the city to discuss potential opportunities that could arise from cooperation between Hong Kong and Zhejiang province.

Lee stressed the SAR serves as a great platform for mainland firms to go global.

The delegation will wrap up its visit to the province on Friday.