15th Five-Year Plan to offer Hong Kong historic new opportunities: HKSAR financial secretary

China

15th Five-Year Plan to offer Hong Kong historic new opportunities: HKSAR financial secretary

2026-03-20 11:49 Last Updated At：15:57

Hong Kong will take the initiative to align with the 15th Five-Year (2026-2030) Plan, a mission and responsibility that presents a historic new opportunity for its development, said Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

The newly unveiled outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan has put forward several measures to promote Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability and to advance the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, pointing out how Hong Kong's unique advantages can be further leveraged in the coming five years.

It also explicitly calls for supporting Hong Kong's development as an international hub for innovation and technology and for accelerating the growth of the Northern Metropolis.

Speaking at a seminar on the new 15th five-year blueprint in Beijing on Thursday, Chan said that Hong Kong can leverage its research and financial strengths to contribute to the country's tech self-sufficiency push, as the HKSAR works on drafting its own first five-year development strategy.

"The Northern Metropolis is a strategic center for Hong Kong's innovation and technology hub and a platform for collaboration with sister cities across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. We welcome both domestic and overseas companies to take an active role in its development. The HKSAR government has prepared a package of preferential policies. Under the framework of the 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong will continue to leverage its strengths and act as both an active participant in and a major contributor to the country's high-quality development and modernization," said Chan.

Representatives from Hong Kong's various sectors say that, as the country intensifies efforts to cultivate new growth drivers and accelerate high-level self-reliance in science and technology, Hong Kong should seize these opportunities to achieve leapfrog progress in its emerging industries.

"Hong Kong is home to many outstanding universities, including five institutions ranked among the world's top 100. This will provide abundant opportunities for scientific collaboration with other cities. As an integral part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong must seize these opportunities to integrate with and contribute to the country's broader development," said Sunny Chai, chairman of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.

China's top diplomat urges efforts to prevent escalation in Mideast conflict

China's top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday that one of the top priorities at present is to contain the spread of the conflict and prevent further involvement of other countries.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, made the remarks in a phone conversation with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French president, at the latter's request.

Wang elaborated on China's position, saying that the current situation in the Middle East is still deteriorating, with the conflict continuing to spread. This has not only undermined the stability of global energy supply but also led to a severe humanitarian crisis.

Resorting to force will not solve the problem, and an unjust war should not be allowed to continue, he said.

In the face of the critical situation, China and France, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, should strengthen strategic communication and coordination, firmly uphold the UN Charter and international law, and prevent the world from regressing to the "law of the jungle," Wang said.

He added that the other two top priorities are for the international community to speak with one voice in calling for an immediate ceasefire and to intensify efforts to advance peace talks, and for the United Nations and the UN Security Council to play their due role in facilitating the early restoration of peace and stability in the region.

Despite the difficulties, dialogue and negotiation remain the right path out of the crisis, Wang said, adding that China and France should work together toward this end.

For his part, Bonne shared his perspectives on the current situation in the Middle East, including developments in Iran and Lebanon.

He said that France and China, as major countries, both support the United Nations, abide by international law, and advocate resolving differences through dialogue.

He said that the two countries should work together to explore solutions and contribute to easing tensions and resuming negotiations.

France is willing to enhance communication and cooperation with China to push for the early achievement of peace and stability in the Middle East, he added.