HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 21 February 2023 - Organized by the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Science and supported by the Innovation and Technology Fund of the Hong Kong SAR, the HKAES International Bay Area Summit ("the Summit") was unveiled yesterday (20 February). Officiated at the opening ceremony were The Hon Chun-ying Leung, Vice-Chairman of The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR; The Hon John KC Lee, GBM, SBS, PDSM, PMSM, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR; Prof. Xiaohong Li, President of Chinese Academy of Engineering; Prof. Guangjun Zhang, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China; and Ms Xinning Lu, Deputy Director of The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR. The two-day Summit has convened tens of speakers from across the world to deliver themed presentations and panel discussions around innovation, technology, entrepreneurship, and ecosystems that explore challenges, opportunities and sustainable development of the Greater Bay Area. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area, GBA) comprises the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and the nine municipalities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province with a total area of around 56 000 km², population of over 86.7 million and GDP of USD 1,958 billion. The development of the GBA is a key national development strategy. It is important for Hong Kong companies to capitalize on cross-border opportunities by leveraging on the unique positioning and reap the benefits of the immense market of the GBA. The Hon Chun-ying Leung, Vice-Chairman of The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR said, "The nine Guangdong cities are huge and diverse, each offering Hong Kong its own special prospects. For Hong Kong to effectively work with the GBA, we need to prioritize geographical advantages. Hong Kong cannot cover all nine cities fully and equally in one go. In the initial cooperation stages between the nine cities, we need to establish a Hong Kong bridgehead. We need to establish a forward base and then a cluster for Hong Kong to acclimatize. This will allow us sharpen our skills, to build networks and grow a critical mass from which we can in due course more fully engage all the Guangdong-GBA cities. In the Guangdong area, Hong Kong brings to the table the capabilities as a financial trade, innovation and technology and professional service centre. Hong Kong additionally brings its international connection with the rest of the world. Hong Kong is the super connector." In his opening remarks at the Summit, The Hon John KC Lee, GBM, SBS, PDSM, PMSM, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR shared, "With the support of the National 14th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong is determined to develop into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre. The Northern Metropolis is linked with Shenzhen and will take up an area about one-third the size of Hong Kong. It will not only provide much-needed land for the advancement of innovation and technology, but also create a platform that pools together local talents and experts from other GBA cities and overseas. To meet the strong construction output, we will uplift our overall productivity and sustainability by adopting high productivity construction methods such as Modular Integrated Construction, or MiC. For that, we have established a steering committee to strengthen the MiC supply chain, and to foster collaboration with the strong manufacturing bases in the GBA. My thanks to the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences for organising this dynamic and rewarding Summit. I am certain that you will all enjoy the invaluable opportunity to share insights on bay area development from around the world." Prof. Guangjun Zhang, Vice Minister of Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (Video) said, "The Hong Kong SAR Government has invested more than HKD150 billion to support the development of innovation over the past five years, and published the 'Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint' in December 2022 which outlined four broad major directions and eight major strategies that establish a clear development path and formulate systematic strategic planning for Hong Kong's innovation and technology (I&T) development over the next five to 10 years. The Blueprint is a testament to the Government's determination and actions on the development of innovation and technology. As we stand in a new onset in history, the Technology Division will work closely with the Hong Kong SAR Government, as we have always been, with building a top-quality Great Bay Area as our major goal and supporting the...