(10 April 2019)

China.com – The Symposium to introduce Great Bay Area in Tokyo on 9 April 2019 was co-organized by Guangdong Provincial Government, Hong Kong SAR Government and Macao SAR Government. Government officers of China and Japan as well as more than 1,200 enterprise representatives attended the Symposium to have an overview look at Great Bay Area as well as to explore bilateral economic collaboration. This is the first event to introduce Great Bay Area outside of China.

Symposium to introduce Great Bay Area in Tokyo on 9 April 2019

Mr Cheng Yonghua, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China in Japan; Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong; and Mrs Sonia Chan, Secretary for Administration and Justice of Ma Cao; attended and delivered speeches on the main topic of the Symposium. Furthermore, Dr Jonathan Choi, Chairman of The Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC); Mr Sasaki Nobuhiko, Chairman of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), and Mr Yoshihiro Seki, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, also delivered speeches during the Symposium.

Mrs Carrie Lam pointed out in her speech that Hong Kong is an international financial, trading and commercial center, which utilized its advantages in contributing to the development of Great Bay Area. Hong Kong, in collaboration with Ma Cao and 9 other provinces/cities, has created a world-class bay area.

Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, delivered speech at the Symposium

She also shared that the development of Great Bay Area is a motivation for advancing Japan and Hong Kong’s collaboration. She encouraged Japanese enterprises to seize these opportunities and advance their businesses in Hong Kong.

Ambassador Cheng Yonghua noted that Great Bay Area is the window of Chinese economy, which will provide enterprises from many countries with development opportunities, including Japanese enterprises. Thus, he hoped that this Symposium will help Japanese enterprises understand Great Bay Area better as well as encourage them to cooperate with the bay area’s regions and cities.

Mr Ma Xing Rui, Guangdong Governor, pointed out that the Bay Area is one of the most energetic, fast-growing and internationalized areas in China’s economy. He expressed Guangdong’s willingness to learn from Japan’s experiences and advance cooperation with Japan.

Mrs Sonia Chan stated that Great Bay Area’s establishment and development brought about a rare and very important historical opportunity for Ma Cao.

Dr Jonathan Choi delivered the Closing remark

Concluding the event, Dr Jonathan Choi, Standing Committee Member of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Chairman of Guangdong – Hong Kong – Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs Union, Chairman of CGCC, expressed his pleasure, “The Symposium of Great Bay Area in Tokyo, jointly organized by three governments, has received very optimistic results.”

Dr Jonathan Choi, Chairman of the Guangdong – Hong Kong – Macao Entrepreneur Union, delivered the Closing Remark

He revealed that this symposium was originally planned in last year’s November by Guangdong – Hong Kong – Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs Union. Then he realized that the involvement of the governments would strengthen the prestige and influence of this event. Hence he invited Guangdong provincial government, Hong Kong SAR government and Ma Cao SAR government to officiate the Symposium, which in return received full support from Mrs Carrie Lam, Mr Ma Xing Rui and Ma Cao SAR government. Additionally, he had the conference room at Imperial Tokyo Hotel expanded from 800 seats to 1,000 seats, and eventually to 1,200 seats. On the day of the Symposium, true to his foresight, the conference room was fully packed with attendees, proving the high interest of Japanese enterprises in Great Bay Area.

Discussing the Symposium’s outcome, Dr Jonathan Choi pointed out that the attendance of three regional government leaders brought about great attention and made the event the news focus of Japanese media. He stated that there were quite a lot Japanese enterprises got to obtain an overall knowledge of the Great Bay Area for the first time thanks to this Symposium, which gave them the chance to realize the huge potential for economic cooperation between China and Japan.

Before the Symposium, The Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and The Representative Office of China Council for The Promotion of International Trade signed Memorandum of Strategic Cooperation

Dr Jonathan Choi also shared that Great Bay Area was an area with extreme economic strength in China, thus enterprises from Great Bay Area came to Japan not merely to look for investment but indeed to create bilateral investment opportunities. Great Bay Area enterprises are willing to invest in Japan as well as cooperate with Japanese companies to invest in a third country, such as South East Asian countries, or countries in other areas of the world to expand each side’s business. The role of Hong Kong enterprises in the whole process is not just a connector but also play the role of investors, optimizing Hong Kong’s originality, strength and potential.

Dr Jonathan Choi hoped that the collaboration between Great Bay Area and Japan would develop fast, hence enhancing two countries’ relation and contributing to the peace and development of Asia.

After the Symposium, in the evening of April 9, the Guangdong – Hong Kong – Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs Union and CGCC hosted a Thank-you Dinner for government and business leaders. The former Prime Minister of Japan, Mr Yasuo Fukuda attended the Dinner and delivered a very warm speech. He was very happy to hear that there were 1,200 Japanese business leaders coming to Tokyo to join the Symposium. He expressed his gratitude towards Dr Jonathan Choi’s continuous efforts to bring about such impressive results. He believed that as long as both sides continue to strive, China – Japan bilateral collaboration in general and Great Bay Area – Tokyo Bay Area cooperation in particular will prosper and succeed more and more in the future.

Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, Former Prime Minister of Japan, delivered speech at the Thank-you Dinner

Government and business leaders at the Thank-you Dinner

Translated from: China.com