Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu reached out to Chinese mainland companies on Thursday, saying that as a "super connector" and "super value-adder”, the SAR serves as an ideal partner for mainland companies venturing abroad.

Lee was speaking to a special promotion conference in Shanghai during the China International Import Expo, which started on Wednesday.

Lee, who led a high-level delegation to the expo, attended the "Hong Kong — The Ideal Platform for Mainland Enterprises in Going Global Promotion Conference", hosted by the SAR government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on Thursday, to promote the city’s strengths.  

The event spotlighted Hong Kong's main attributes and Shanghai-Hong Kong collaboration.

Lee said mainland companies need substantial funding, professional services and an international business platform before going global.

In this regard, he highlighted Hong Kong's strengths, particularly its robust international network.

He flagged Hong Kong's comprehensive advantages under the “one country, two systems” principle, including its world-class professional services, legal system aligned with the other global financial centers, simple tax regime, extensive logistics network, and access to global capital and talent.

As one of the world's freest economies, Hong Kong continuously expands its economic and trade networks, focusing not only on traditional and but also emerging markets like Southeast Asia, the Middle East and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. He reaffirmed that the city will continue to enhance multilateral trade through various initiatives, including seeking early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and bolstering economic and trade ties through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

He invited mainland companies to leverage Hong Kong for fundraising, establishing international business headquarters, financial centers, research hubs, and supply chain management centers for global expansion.

“Hong Kong will continue to serve as the best platform and the best partner for mainland companies venturing into the global market,” he said.

To better assist mainland companies in this journey, Lee mentioned the establishment of a supporting task force (GoGlobal Task Force) as set out in this year’s Policy Address released in September. The task force is now proactively attracting companies to use Hong Kong as a platform while seeking global expansion.

The event drew several high-ranking mainland officials and over 400 business representatives from mainland and Hong Kong across various sectors including innovation and technology, healthcare, and professional services.

Addressing the same event, Xu Qifang, the executive deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, highlighted Hong Kong's recognized global development and strengths.

He stressed that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's economic output has surged ahead of other major bay areas worldwide, while Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou ranks first in the index of the world's top 100 innovation clusters.

The special administrative region retains third position in the Global Financial Centres Index and a top-three spot among the most competitive economies globally, and jumped to fourth place globally and ranks first in Asia in the World Talent Ranking 2025.

"The facts prove that the Pearl of the Orient's allure endures," Xu said.

He said he believes that with robust backing from the central government and unified efforts across the SAR government and society, Hong Kong's distinctive strengths and pivotal role will be further reinforced. Notably, its status as the premier platform for mainland enterprises expanding globally will become increasingly evident, with more and more successful cases of mainland companies venturing abroad via Hong Kong in the future.

Shanghai-Hong Kong cooperation was also a focal point of the event. Lee emphasized Hong Kong's commitment to advancing the development of both cities through enhanced exchange and understanding. He mentioned the success of a similar promotional event in Shanghai last November, where he noted the business community's keen interest in Hong Kong. He said he hopes this year's event will deepen ties of the two cities, expecting them to better align with national strategies and spur further growth collectively.

After the promotional event, Lee met with Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China Chen Jining, and the Mayor of Shanghai Gong Zheng.

He thanked Shanghai authorities for their support for Shanghai-Hong Kong cooperation over the years, noting that the two regions have yielded fruitful results through close collaboration since the establishment of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference mechanism in 2003.

In particular, he mentioned the launch of the International Board of the Shanghai Gold Exchange’s first offshore gold delivery vault in Hong Kong in June. He promised that Hong Kong will continue to work with Shanghai to promote gold trading co-operation.

He also expressed his high expectations concerning the huge potential of bilateral cooperation in technology innovation. With Shanghai's active development in artificial intelligence and Hong Kong's strengths in research, capital, data and talent, the two places could synergize and jointly develop a global hub for artificial intelligence, he said.

Contact the writer at amberwu@chinadailyhk.com