Premier says central govt will back both SARs to further exploit their strengths

Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday stressed the central government's firm support for the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions in seizing major opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development strategy.

The central government will back the two SARs to further exploit their strengths, while boosting mutually beneficial cooperation with the mainland in all areas.

Li made the remarks while delivering the State Council's annual Government Work Report at the opening ceremony of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

This is the first time the central government has included both the national plans as Hong Kong and Macao's major development opportunities in its annual work report; it stressed the two SARs' deep cooperation with the mainland "in all fields".

Four years after the global Belt and Road Initiative was announced, the vision of the Bay Area development emerged in 2017's Government Work Report. After two years of preparations, the outline development plan for the Bay Area was released on Feb 18; Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen were listed in the plan as key cities with distinctive functions.

Besides laying out tasks for 2019, Li also stressed that the central government will continue to fully and faithfully implement "one country, two systems" principle, the people of Hong Kong governing Hong Kong, the people of Macao governing Macao, and a high degree of autonomy for both regions.

The central government will strictly follow the national Constitution and the Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macao, Li pledged, reiterating the governments and chief executives of the two SARs will have the central government's full support in exercising law-based governance.

Moreover, the central government has every confidence that Hong Kong and Macao will develop and thrive together with the mainland and maintain long-term prosperity and stability, Li said.

Meanwhile, the ceremonial event also saw the National Development and Reform Commission release its draft plan for national economic and social development this year.

Listing development of the Bay Area as one of the major national strategies for regional development, the NDRC said it will accelerate development of the 11-city cluster by drawing up plans on industrial development, infrastructure and ecological conservation and environmental protection for the region.

It plans to give more support to Hong Kong and Macao in integrating themselves into the country's overall development. It will also launch concrete policies to make it easier for residents from both SARs to apply for mainland residence permits and to pursue career development on the mainland, according to the draft plan.

The NDRC said it will support Hong Kong to raise its standing as an international financial, shipping and trade center. It will also give a hand to the city in pushing forward closer cooperation with the mainland in science and technology, in a bid to evolve into an international center for innovation and technology.

Macao will also enjoy NDRC's support on its transformation into a world tourism and leisure center, and serve as a platform for business and trade cooperation between China and Lusophone countries. It plans to become a hub for scientific and industrial development of traditional Chinese medicine, according to the NDRC plan.

It will also promote the development of Shenzhen's Qianhai, Guangzhou's Nansha, and Zhuhai's Hengqin as platforms for cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

Nearly 3,000 national legislators attended the grand gathering in Beijing. They will deliberate on the Government Work Report and the NDRC plan in the next few days and vote on them at the closing ceremony on March 15.