Beijing and Hong Kong signed investment contracts for 15 key projects with a total value of US$3.53 billion at the 22th Beijing-HK Economic Cooperation Symposium, which closed in the capital yesterday. These investment projects are expected to benefit the citizens of Beijing by offering customer-friendly rail transit solutions and high-standard medical care and travel services.
"The key projects of this symposium aim to optimize the advantages of the two cities and promote opening up in the service industry, technological innovation and urban infrastructure construction," said a person in charge at the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau.
One of the cooperation agreements signed at the symposium is a memorandum on deepening cooperation between Beijing and Hong Kong in upgrading rail transit services. According to the memorandum, Beijing will learn from the successful practices of Hong Kong and other international cities in offering customer-friendly riding experiences, so as to improve the service level of its urban rail transit facilities.
Other contracting agreements involve several industries, including consulting, infrastructure construction, medical care, and finance. Fitch Ratings' HK headquarters planned to set up a credit rating company in Beijing, which will help the capital learn from the company's financial service experience. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology agreed with a Beijing-based company to jointly build a lab on artificial intelligence and computer vision. Hong Kong C-MER International Eye Care Group set out to establish eye care hospital in Beijing, while Shougang Concord International Enterprises Co. Ltd. signed smart mobility deals.
The projects signed at the symposium mainly focus on optimizing Beijing's function as the country's cultural center and scientific innovation center, as well as on accelerating the industrial upgrading of the capital. Investment from Hong Kong will boost the development of the headquarters economy in Beijing by bringing expertise and experience to the high- and new-technology industry, the knowledge-based service industry, and the high-value cultural and creative industry.
According to the person in charge at the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau, this edition of the Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium had followed the spirit of sustainable cooperation, and brought Beijing-HK cooperation into a new era. Cooperation between the two cities will continue to expand in scope, and will aim at exploring the international market.
