2024 Summit of young entrepreneurs from Macao, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan Held in Hong Kong

Other officiating guests included Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR Zheng Yanxiong, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR Cui Jianchun, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province Deng Haiguang, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of HKSAR Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs of the HKSAR Alice Mak,Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee Chen Wenming, Vice chairman of Straits Economic and Cultural Interchange Association Chu Ping-yu, President of Macau Youth Entrepreneur Association Li Juren, Honorary Chairman of Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland Kuo Shan Huei KUO, Chief President of The Association of the Hong Kong Members of Guangdong's CPPCC Committees Eric Fok Kai-shan, Founder and executive vice chairman of Hong Kong Guangdong Youth Association Adam Kwok Kai-fai, Executive Vice President of the Hong Kong Guangdong Chamber of Foreign Investors, Vice President of The Association of the Hong Kong Members of Guangdong's CPPCC Committees Liu Yi Man.

In his speech, Leung Chun-ying, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, discussed the recent close collaboration between Hong Kong and the Mainland, and highlighted the advantages of Hong Kong in aiding the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (“Greater Bay Area”), emphasizing the importance of leveraging the city's role as an international hub for finance, shipping and trade, and using her strengths in talent, language, legal frameworks, institutional systems, taxation, finance, and international market promotion. He said Hong Kong will play a significant role in the development of the Greater Bay Area. He also hoped for future opportunities to engage with young entrepreneurs from the mainland and other regions, and to encourage young people to seize the great opportunities for national rejuvenation and work together to create a brighter tomorrow.

John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said in his speech, "The Summit today presents an important platform for cooperation and exchanges among outstanding young entrepreneurs from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, as well as from Hong Kong and Macao, facilitating and promoting mutual learning and understanding, which is of great significance. The Hong Kong SAR Government has been actively encouraging youth innovation and entrepreneurship, motivating young entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams and realize their ambitions in the Greater Bay Area. The Pearl River Delta region has been a key area for Taiwanese enterprises to expand their business in the Mainland, and many Taiwanese businesses have already integrated into the local industrial chains. I hope young entrepreneurs on both sides of the Taiwan Straits will seize the opportunity for achieving high-quality development through collaboration in the Greater Bay Area, work diligently, innovate boldly, and make new milestones in their careers."

Lin Keqing, chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Party secretary of Guangzhou, commended the success of the exchange meeting. He said this year marks the fifth anniversary of the implementation of the "Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" and that in the past five years, under the strong leadership of the central government, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have pursued synergistic innovation, complementing each other's strengths. The Greater Bay Area has witnessed a surge of creativity, showing the vast potential of growing into a world-class bay area. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has established systematic arrangements to comprehensively deepen reforms and such developments are bringing new and significant opportunities for Hong Kong and Macao to better integrate into overall national development, injecting fresh momentum into expanding cross-strait cooperation and exchanges, helping deepen cross-strait integration and development. Currently, Guangdong is studying and implementing the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, as well as the instructions in the important speeches of General Secretary Xi Jinping during his inspection of Guangdong. Construction of the Greater Bay Area presents the country with a significant opportunity for deepening reform and opening up, serving as a source of her high-quality development. Lin expressed hope that young entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, Guangdong, Macao, and Taiwan will actively seize the new major opportunities arising from the development of the country, better integrate into her new round of reform and opening up, and collaborate to create a vibrant chapter of pursuing dreams in the Greater Bay Area, achieve their aspirations and contribute to the bright future of national reunification and the great glory of national rejuvenation.

In his speech, Wang Rong, Deputy Director of the CPPCC Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Overseas Chinese Committee, emphasized that in recent years, collaborative innovation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao has deepened significantly, and that technological innovation has driven industrial advancement, leading to the emergence of new industries, new models, and new momentum, which in turn has fostered new forms of productivity. The Greater Bay Area has become a rising global hub for innovation and growth, and the innovative development of the Greater Bay Area has attracted active participation of many Taiwanese entrepreneurs. In doing so, they are integrating into the new wave of national reform and opening up, as well as the process of Chinese-style modernization, helping create new opportunities for integrated development across the Taiwan Strait.

In his speech, Lien Sheng-wen, Vice Chairman of the Kuomintang emphasized the infinite potential and charm of the Greater Bay Area. He believes the accumulation of talent pool in the Greater Bay Area is not limited to those from such fields as finance, trade, tourism, technology or industry, but also includes many other talent in the three places. More importantly, many young entrepreneurs dream about starting from scratch in the Greater Bay Area, investing in innovation and entrepreneurship, and ultimately creating outstanding enterprises.

In his speech, Tang Bingquan, Director of the Sun Yat-sen Foundation, said, "The Greater Bay Area currently embodies boundless business opportunities and vast prospects. I hope through this year’s Summit, the young entrepreneurs from Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan will see the new dynamics, new opportunities and information networks in the developing Greater Bay Area, and gain confidence in working together to foster innovative growth of the Area. I also hope to encourage more innovative enterprises and entrepreneurs to integrate and invest in the Greater Bay Area, and jointly build a world-class international bay area."

Stephen Tai Tak-fung, President of the Hong Kong Guangdong Chamber of Foreign Investors, Founding Chief President of The Association of the Hong Kong Members of Guangdong's CPPCC Committees, pointed out that the theme of this year's Summit, which is "Collaborative Innovation: Chasing Dreams in the Greater Bay Area", is in line with the spirit of the Third Plenary Session and of essence to the construction of the Greater Bay Area. He said the Greater Bay Area is a major national strategy personally planned, deployed, and promoted by General Secretary Xi Jinping, and has an important strategic position in the new development pattern of the country. He thus hopes young entrepreneurs can make the best of the platform the exchange meeting provides to deepen mutual cooperation, give full play to their advantages and make greater contributions to the high-quality development of the country.

Li Juren, President of Macau Youth Entrepreneur Association, said for young entrepreneurs from the four regions, it is a responsibility to anchor in the Greater Bay Area, which gives them a rare opportunity to integrate their strengths with those of the country to help her rejuvenate. He expects young entrepreneurs from various regions to learn from and inspire each other, drawing on and complementing each other's strengths. Through innovative cooperation, he aims to promote in-depth integration of urban agglomerations in the Greater Bay Area and together with all parties involved map out a grand blueprint for regional development.

Deng Daixian, Secretary General of Taiwan Straits Economic and Cultural Interchange Association, believes economic, trade and cultural ties are crucial to connecting the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Division of labor and cooperation along industrial chains and comprehensive economic integration and development are in the common interest of enterprises and people from the four regions cross-strait. He hopes young entrepreneurs from Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan can collaborate to complement each other's strengths, establish a comprehensive exchange and cooperation platform, and open a broader and brighter future for themselves by tapping the development momentum of the Greater China Economic Area.

This year's Summit gathered more than 400 young entrepreneurs from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the Hong Kong and Macau regions in Hong Kong to discuss cooperative development. It was an opportunity to establish an exchange and cooperation platform for promoting complementary advantages among the four regions, strengthening regional cooperation, and driving economic development in the Greater Bay Area. Representatives of young entrepreneurs from Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan took part in the afternoon enterprise forums and roundtable dialogues, engaging in enthralled discussions and exchanges on popular topics such as digital intelligence and modern finance, sharing their work experiences and unique insights about their industries.

The Summit also arranged visits the following day for the participating young entrepreneurs to Hong Kong's landmarks in finance, innovation and technology, culture and art, including the HKMA Information Centre, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, Cyberport, West Kowloon Art Park, and the Palace Museum, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of Hong Kong from multiple perspectives and further enhance exchanges and cooperation.

The Summit was jointly organized by the Hong Kong Guangdong Foreign Businessmen Association, the Political Consultative Conference Members Friendship Associations in Hong Kong and Guangdong, the Sun Yat-sen Foundation, the Guangdong Youth Federation, the Macau Young Entrepreneurs Association, the Macau Youth Federation, the Taiwan Straits Economic and Cultural Interchange Association, and the Taiwan Elite Association.

It was first held in 2016 and six sessions have taken place so far in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou, participated by more than 40 youth organizations and more than 2,600 outstanding young entrepreneurs, playing the significant role of promoting exchanges and cooperation among young entrepreneurs from the four regions. The Summit has helped spread the notion that "both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family/people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all of the same family" and allowed sharing of successful "one country, two systems" experiences, while also fostering the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and contributing to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macau.

About "Union of Chinese Contemporaries" — Summit of young entrepreneurs from Macao, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan

The aims of the "Union of Chinese Contemporaries" — Summit of young entrepreneurs from Macao, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan” are to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan affairs, promote the great spirit of Mr. Sun Yat-sen’s "Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation" and "the world is for the public," strengthen exchanges and cooperation among young entrepreneurs from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the Hong Kong and Macau regions, foster the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and ensure prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau, and contribute to national strength and rejuvenation. It is jointly organized by the Sun Yat-sen Foundation, Guangdong Youth Federation, Friends of Hong Kong Association, Political Consultative Conference Members Friendship Associations in Hong Kong and Guangdong, Taiwan Straits Economic and Cultural Interchange Association, and Taiwan Elite Association, among others. Since its inaugural session in Taiwan in 2016, six sessions have taken place in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong. More than 40 youth organizations and more than 2,600 young entrepreneurs from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the Hong Kong and Macau regions have participated to date in the exchanges, establishing a platform for cooperation among young entrepreneurs. This year, the Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan has again designated the event as a key project for national interchanges with Taiwan.