Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Engages with Beijing Officials on Legal Cooperation and Arbitration Opportunities

SJ calls on central ministries and authorities in Beijing

The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, called on the Supreme People's Court and central ministries respectively in Beijing for two consecutive days to discuss and exchange views on the progress and work of the key policy initiatives of the Department of Justice (DoJ).

In the morning today (April 21), Mr Lam visited the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) Beijing Representative Office to learn about how the office assists the HKIAC in further developing the Mainland market following its establishment in Beijing. The opportunities brought about by the revised Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China were also discussed.

In the afternoon, Mr Lam visited the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council to discuss opportunities for co-operation in areas such as capacity building programmes and talent training between the two sides.

Mr Lam also met with Vice Minister of Justice Ms Wu Zeng to discuss issues relating to legal matters concerning the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), including "allowing Hong Kong-invested enterprises to choose for arbitration to be seated in Hong Kong", the development of the GBA lawyers' scheme, and the co-operation between Mainland and Hong Kong law firms.

In the morning yesterday (April 20), Mr Lam called on the Supreme People's Court to meet with the President of the Supreme People's Court, Mr Zhang Jun. They discussed the mutual legal assistance arrangements and training for foreign-related legal talent between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Mainland.

In the afternoon, Mr Lam called on the Ministry of Commerce. He introduced to Deputy China International Trade Representative Mr Jiang Chenghua the DoJ's measures to strengthen Hong Kong's professional services sectors in supporting Mainland enterprises going global, and ways to encourage Mainland enterprises to adopt Hong Kong law as the applicable law while expanding overseas and to choose Hong Kong as the destination for dispute resolution.

During the meeting with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ms Hua Chunying, both sides exchanged views on issues such as supporting the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the DoJ in collaborating with international legal organisations and enhancing Hong Kong’s status as the centre for international legal and dispute resolution services.

Accompanying Mr Lam on the visit were the Law Officer (International Law), Dr James Ding; the Solicitor General, Mr Llewellyn Mui; the Law Officer (Civil Law), Mr Clifford Tavares, and government counsel from various legal divisions.

Mr Lam will continue his visit to Beijing tomorrow (April 22).

Source: AI-found images

SJ calls on central ministries and authorities in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SJ calls on central ministries and authorities in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SJ calls on central ministries and authorities in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SJ calls on central ministries and authorities in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SJ calls on central ministries and authorities in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SJ calls on central ministries and authorities in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Speech by SCST at Audi Football Summit 2026 announcement press conference

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, at the Audi Football Summit 2026 announcement press conference today (April 21):

Mr Zhou Quanqing (Managing Director of KuoKai Sports), Mr Brian Yeung (Managing Director of Scramble Events), Mr Eric Fok (Chairman of the Football Association of Hong Kong, China), Mr Rouven Kasper (Chief Marketing and Sales Officer and Board Member of FC Bayern Müchen), Mr Ben Hatton (Chief Operations Officer of Aston Villa FC), legends Stefan (Legend of FC Bayern München Mr Stefan Effenberg) and Alan (Legend of Aston Villa FC Mr Alan McInally), media friends, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening, everyone. It is wonderful to see you all here at this press conference. For at least some of you, we are actually meeting the second time in the same day - having gathered this morning to celebrate the launch of another spectacular premier football event here in Hong Kong. And now we have more, and if you have a particular fondness for German football, you might actually say that we are saving the best for last.

We are immensely proud to welcome two of Europe's most formidable clubs to Hong Kong for the Audi Football Summit 2026, taking place this August: Bayern München, or more familiar to us, Bayern Munich from Germany, and Aston Villa from the English Premier League (EPL). I would say this is a long overdue return for both teams. It has been nearly 20 years since Bayern last played here, and 15 for Aston Villa.

What makes this even more exciting is that both teams are in outstanding form. Already crowned champions of the Bundesliga with four rounds to go, Bayern Munich produced a thrilling comeback to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals just a few days ago. Aston Villa, meanwhile, is enjoying a fantastic season - currently sitting among the top four in the Premier League and recently securing a powerful 4-0 victory in the Europa League. So the Audi Football Summit promises to be a truly amazing encounter of the giants.

As I mentioned this morning, our Kai Tak Sports Park, and in particular Kai Tak Stadium has become the preferred venue for pre-season games of top international football clubs, as well as many other major international sporting and entertainment events. Indeed, as Aston Villa coming our way, the top six EPL clubs will all have appeared in Kai Tak Stadium. I sincerely hope that for both the teams and fans travelling from abroad, you will also find time to enjoy the many tourism offerings in Hong Kong while you are here. My colleagues at the Hong Kong Tourism Board are certainly ready to offer ideas - and that experience could start right now with the legendary players from both teams, who have flown in specially to support this exciting launch.

Before I close, I would also like to thank KuoKai Sports and Scramble Events for bringing the Audi Football Summit to Hong Kong. And I look forward to seeing everyone at Kai Tak Stadium on August 7.

Thank you very much.