Hong Kong and Hainan Leaders Discuss Enhanced Cooperation in Trade, Tourism, and Cultural Exchange

CE meets Governor of Hainan Province

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (June 17) met with the Governor of Hainan Province, Mr Liu Xiaoming, at Government House to exchange views on further deepening co-operation between Hong Kong and Hainan. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau; the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Miss Janice Tse Siu-wa; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip, also attended the meeting.

Mr Lee welcomed Mr Liu and his delegation to Hong Kong for a Hainan Free Trade Port tourism and culture promotion event. Mr Lee said he was delighted to meet Mr Liu again following the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan this March. Hong Kong has long been the major source of external investment in Hainan and an important trading partner. The Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the two sides last year covers five areas, namely trade and investment, finance, safe and orderly flow of data, tourism and talent exchanges, which have taken co-operation between the two places to a new level. Mr Lee noted that with the full implementation of the island-wide special customs operations at the end of last year, the Hainan Free Trade Port has rolled out free and facilitative measures for cross-border flows. As both Hong Kong and Hainan are free trade ports, he said he looks forward to further leveraging their complementary advantages and promoting synergistic development, thereby contributing to the country's high-level opening up.

Mr Lee said that Hong Kong enjoys the unique advantages of having strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the "one country, two systems" principle, ranking No. 1 globally in economic freedom. Hong Kong has risen to become the world's largest cross-boundary wealth management centre, and is also the world's largest offshore Renminbi (RMB) business hub. The Hainan Provincial People's Government has issued offshore RMB bonds in Hong Kong multiple times since 2022, and a Hainan enterprise was listed in Hong Kong last year. These fully demonstrate Hong Kong's advantages in fundraising and financing as an international financial centre. Mr Lee welcomed more Hainan companies to make good use of Hong Kong's capital market, and professional and high value-added services for fundraising and business expansion. Hong Kong plays its roles as a "super connector" and "super value-adder", and is proactively supporting Mainland enterprises, including those in Hainan, in going global and attracting overseas capital through the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global, to jointly contribute to regional economic prosperity and better integrate into and serve the overall national development.

Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is committed to developing itself into an international tourism hub and a core demonstration zone for multi-destination tourism, capitalising on its position as an East-meets-West centre for international arts and cultural exchanges to build a city offering high-quality tourism experiences. With rich tourism resources in both places, Hong Kong and Hainan can jointly develop a wider array of tourism products. Mr Lee said he looks forward to attracting more high-value-added international visitors to travel to both places through multi-destination itineraries, and joining hands to contribute to the country's goal of building a tourism powerhouse.

CE meets Governor of Hainan Province Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CHP investigates imported case of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infection

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (June 17) announced an imported case of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection and reminded the public to maintain good personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent intestinal infections.

The case involves a 2-year-old girl with good past health. She developed abdominal pain, a fever and diarrhoea on May 27. She was taken to a private hospital on May 31 for treatment and was discharged on June 4. Throughout her hospitalisation, she remained stable and did not develop any complications. Her stool sample tested positive for STEC by the CHP's Public Health Laboratory Services Branch.

According to information provided by her family, the patient travelled to Guangdong Province on May 23 and 24 during the incubation period, during which, she consumed hotpot ingredients that may not have been thoroughly cooked. She did not consume undercooked food in Hong Kong. So far, her three home contacts have remained asymptomatic. The CHP is monitoring their health conditions and will collect their stool samples for testing to rule out any infection. No gastroenteritis outbreak has been reported recently at the school that the girl attends.

The CHP's investigation is ongoing.

Over the past five years (2021 to 2025), the CHP has recorded one to six cases of STEC infection annually. The above case is the second case of STEC infection recorded in Hong Kong this year. No significant upward trend or unusual cluster of cases has been identified.

The incubation period of STEC infection generally ranges from three to four days. In general, STEC infections are mostly associated with the consumption of contaminated food or water, such as raw or undercooked meat products, contaminated fruits and vegetables, and unpasteurised dairy products. Direct person-to-person transmission through the faecal-oral route can also occur. Waterborne transmissions have been reported, both from contaminated drinking water and from recreational waters. The public is advised to observe good personal and food hygiene.

Members of the public may refer to the CHP'swebpagefor more information about STEC.

Source: AI-found images