Xia Baolong to Visit Hong Kong Tomorrow for Inspection Related to Five-Year Plan

(Central News Agency reporter Zhang Qian, Hong Kong, 15th) According to reports, Xia Baolong, Director of China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office who oversees Hong Kong affairs, will arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow for a two-day inspection. This visit is expected to focus on Hong Kong's planned 'five-year plan'.

Today's Sing Tao Daily reported that Xia Baolong, who serves as Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, is making this southern trip at a time when the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has just launched a public consultation on its first 'five-year plan', making it a likely key agenda item.

Citing Liu Zhaojia, advisor to the National Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies in China, the report stated that the Hong Kong government has begun a two-month public consultation on its first 'five-year plan' today. It is believed that Beijing is particularly concerned about the compilation process of Hong Kong's 'five-year plan' and the progress of the Northern Metropolis development.

He said it is estimated that Beijing hopes to understand the views of the Hong Kong government and society on the city's future development, and then provide guidance accordingly.

Hong Kong will begin a two-month public consultation on its first local 'five-year plan' starting today. The formulation of this 'five-year plan' aims to align with Beijing's '15th Five-Year Plan' to seize development opportunities.

During the consultation period, the Hong Kong government will release a consultation document and hold multiple consultation events to collect opinions from legislators, industry representatives, and citizens.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said last week that the creation of Hong Kong's first 'five-year plan' is a historic step of great significance, enabling Hong Kong to seize more opportunities brought by national strategies and development, and helping the city better integrate into and serve the overall national development framework.

He revealed that the 'five-year plan' will uphold the principles that have underpinned Hong Kong's success, including the full and steadfast implementation of the 'one country, two systems' principle, adherence to 'patriots administering Hong Kong', achieving policy goals of economic development and livelihood improvement, and enhancing governance effectiveness.

He said that Hong Kong previously lacked a comprehensive mechanism to align with China's 'five-year plans'. By formulating its own 'five-year plan' for the first time, Hong Kong will establish a policy framework to make more detailed arrangements in key development areas, aligning with China's 5-year, 10-year, and even longer-term plans.

The '15th Five-Year Plan', officially titled 'The 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China', is a guiding document for China's economic and social development from 2026 to 2030. (Edited by Zhu Jianling) 11506115