Chen Maobo: "Action Plan for the Coordinated Development of Shanghai-Hong Kong International Financial Center" clearly defines cooperation directions such as connectivity, cross-border financial service innovation.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po attended the launch ceremony of the "Shanghai-Hong Kong International Financial Center Synergistic Development Action Plan" today and delivered a speech. He stated that the action plan implements the requirements of the country to enhance the competitiveness and influence of the Shanghai International Financial Center and strengthen and elevate the position of the Hong Kong International Financial Center. It deepens the interconnection of the financial markets in the two regions, enriches cooperation and coordinated development in multiple areas, and serves the development strategy of building a strong financial nation, which is of great significance. At the same time, this action plan further clarifies the specific directions of the cooperation between Shanghai and Hong Kong, including the interconnection of financial markets, innovation in cross-border financial services, development of green finance, cooperation in technology finance, etc., injecting new and richer content into the multi-level, multi-domain financial cooperation between the two regions. He mentioned that the interconnection of the mainland and Hong Kong financial markets began with the launch of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2014, and has continued to deepen and expand since then. This action plan opens up new areas of cooperation on the solid foundation of cooperation between the two regions. For example, cooperation in cross-border clearing, interconnection and interconnection in gold products and transactions, new applications of DIGIHUMAN RMB cross-border payments, and Shanghai financial institutions expanding reinsurance businesses through Hong Kong. It can be said that the Shanghai-Hong Kong financial cooperation is continuously building new bridges, widening lanes, and the prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation are brighter. He further pointed out that the action plan proposes specific measures to support mainland enterprises in going global through more efficient connections of financial institutions, payment networks, and fund management systems between Shanghai and Hong Kong. In the current international geopolitical situation with high-level two-way opening up of the country, mainland enterprises are more interested and in need of expanding globally in supply chains, industrial chains, and exploring new markets. These measures are timely. In fact, Hong Kong has been continuously advancing reforms to consolidate and enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of its international fundraising platform, hoping to help more high-quality mainland enterprises go international. With strong support from central government departments, leading mainland enterprises have been listed in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong's IPO fundraising amount has been leading in the world this year, with its stock market performance ranking among the top. In addition, Hong Kong also provides high value-added services such as trade financing, supply chain management, modern logistics, financial management, and professional consulting, to help mainland enterprises successfully "go global". According to the action plan, the two regions will strengthen cooperation in areas such as financial standards, product innovation, and information sharing, and promote the wider application of technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain in asset management, insurance, and payment settlement scenarios. At the same time, they are committed to supporting the development of the innovation and technology industry through financial policies, such as encouraging insurance institutions to include new drugs and medical devices from the two regions in their coverage to promote the development of the biopharmaceutical industry. In addition, Shanghai is accelerating the construction of a globally influential technology innovation highland, while Hong Kong is working with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to build a comprehensive international innovation and technology center. Further cooperation between the two will bring more financial support to relevant industries.