Chief Executive John Lee on Wednesday called on people to learn more about the nation's development opportunities, as a series of books featuring President Xi Jinping's thoughts and stories were released in Hong Kong.

The chief executive and the head of the liaison office, Zhou Ji, were among those attending the book launch.

The event marked the release of the first volume of a book featuring President Xi's remarks and speeches on the economy, and the first and second volumes of a publication on his interactions with university students.

Lee noted that while the book on youth includes close conversations between the president and the nation's young people, the book on Xi's economic thoughts further explained his principle of "seeking progress while maintaining stability" while exploring how "new quality productive forces" could drive high-quality growth.

The chief executive added that the release of the books, in traditional Chinese characters, offers important learning resources for Hong Kong readers, including youngsters, so they can have a more comprehensive understanding of the nation's overall development.

"I encourage everyone to read these works, to more actively grasp the spirit of the country's further comprehensive deepening of reforms as well as the promotion of Chinese-style modernisation," Lee said.

"In the future, let's use our actions to contribute to Hong Kong's better integration with... and service to the overall development of the country."

Lee added that as this year marks the start of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong will go all out to draft its own five-year plan to better align with national development.

Zhou, for his part, noted that the new book on youth is "a precious gift" for Hong Kong's teenagers.

He expressed the hope that Hong Kong can offer more platforms to support the growth and success of local youths.


Edited by Aaron Tam