The 28th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium, themed "Beijing and Hong Kong: Connecting China and the World," opened Nov. 12 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The ceremony featured addresses by Beijing Mayor Yin Yong, who declared the symposium open, and John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

Lee emphasized the timely nature of the symposium, noting that it comes as China wraps up its 14th Five-Year Plan and sets the agenda for the 15th, making it an ideal moment to connect Beijing and Hong Kong's strengths in finance, trade and innovation with national development strategies.

He underscored the role of finance as a bridge for integrating technology and industry. He cited the recent 2025 Financial Street Forum in Beijing, where new financial support policies and participation from Hong Kong professionals injected more momentum into high-quality financial development.

Highlighting Beijing's advantages in innovation and technology, Lee encouraged more Beijing enterprises to establish a presence in Hong Kong's key development areas, including the Northern Metropolis and the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone.

Yin said the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China provides a clear direction for deepening Beijing-Hong Kong cooperation. He said Beijing is committed to working with Hong Kong to leverage the symposium's unique role, strengthen cooperation mechanisms, innovate methods, and expand areas of collaboration to support national development strategies and drive high-quality development in both cities.

Yin added that Beijing will work with the HKSAR government to advance cooperation toward a deeper, broader and higher level, making new contributions to the sustained and steady implementation of the "one country, two systems" policy.

The welcome address was given by Frederick Ma Si-hang, chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The opening ceremony was hosted by Tang Wenhong, vice mayor of Beijing.