Officials and national lawmakers from Hong Kong and Macao said on Thursday that the country’s newly approved five-year plan provides clear direction and strong support for the development of their home cities, pledging to align local planning with the national blueprint to ensure the public benefits.

Their remarks came after the close of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, in Beijing following eight days of meetings.

At the closing, 35 deputies from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, with one absent, and 12 from the Macao SAR joined lawmakers from across the country in approving the Government Work Report and the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development.

They also voted to adopt the Ecological and Environmental Code, the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, and the National Development Planning Law.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the SAR government will coordinate efforts across different sectors to align Hong Kong’s policies with the national plan and draw up the city’s first five-year development blueprint which he described as “macro-level, strategic and forward-looking”.

He said the country has made great advances in innovation and technology including artificial intelligence and big data, and Hong Kong could leverage the Chinese mainland’s industrial ecosystem to accelerate growth in its own emerging industries.

Speaking to reporters after the closing, Ma Fung-kwok, head of the Hong Kong NPC delegation, said the group held 12 review meetings during the session. Deputies made 295 speeches and submitted 244 proposals, all of which were received by the congress secretariat for follow-up.

ALSO READ: China's five-year plan: Largest modernization by population

Maggie Chan Man-ki, a Hong Kong deputy to the NPC and a lawyer, said “2026 marks the first year of implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan and carries particular significance for Hong Kong.”

She said she will introduce the outcomes of the annual session to the public in Hong Kong and support work on the city’s first five-year plan, with the aim of strengthening its integration into national development so residents can benefit from the country’s growth.

Chan Yung, an NPC deputy and a Hong Kong lawmaker, said the city’s five-year plan would build on the national framework rather than start from scratch.

“As we have always stressed, as long as Hong Kong boards the country’s ‘fast-moving train of growth’ and proactively integrates with national strategies, it can achieve new breakthroughs in its traditional strengths such as finance, as well as emerging sectors like innovation and technology,” he said.

READ MORE: HKSAR needs to adapt national goals to local plans

Jose Chui Sai-peng, deputy head of the Macao delegation to the NPC and president of the Association for Promotion of Science and Technology of Macau, said the delegation submitted a record 119 proposals this year, many of them related to the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.

Noting that the newly adopted National Development Planning Law provides a legal basis for Macao to participate more actively in national priorities, he said “the city will make full use of national policies to accelerate economic diversification”.

Kevin Ho King-lun, a Macao deputy to the NPC and president of the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau, said delegates from the city had held detailed discussions on the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan and proposed revisions.

He said their efforts helped the plan include support for Macao universities to expand into Hengqin, which he said is a boost to the city’s ambition to build an international higher-education hub.

Ho added that he will offer more advice to the Macao SAR government to ensure the city’s third five-year plan is closely aligned with the national blueprint and to promote deeper cooperation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Contact the writer at irisli@chinadailyhk.com