The first conference of the Mainland-Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade opened in Beijing on November 8.

The commission is aimed at "providing a high-level exchange and liaison channel for both commercial and trade departments," according to An Min, assistant minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC).

As the first high-level liaison mechanism established between both sides in commerce and trade since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, it will open a new door for bilateral trade cooperation, said Chau Tak Hay, secretary for Trade and Industry of the HKSAR Government, who co-chaired the conference with An.

The work of the commission will be carried out under two principles: It will follow the Basic Law of HKSAR and proceed within the framework of trade relationship between a sovereign state and an individual customs zone. It will not infringe upon the trade laws of both the Chinese mainland and HKSAR, but instead abide by the regular conventions governing international trade activities.

Chau, who is heading HK's largest official trade delegation to visit Beijing since HK returned on July 1, 1997, showed his approval of the scope and working mode of the commission.

During the two-day conference, the four special working groups under the commission will convene meetings on trade, investment, contracting projects and labor management, technical trade, and regulations.

The mainland and HK have become each other's largest trade partners after nearly 20 years of development.

At present, the export volume of the mainland to HK registers over one fifth of the total export volume, while HK has always been the primary source of overseas capital to the mainland by taking up half of the total the mainland has absorbed.

Despite the fact that trade between the Chinese mainland and HK has dropped continuously for the past years due to the Asian financial crisis, bilateral trade reported an increase of 6.7 percent in August.

"Along with the recuperative growth in export of the mainland and the gradual recovery of the Asian economy, HK's trade has shown signs of recovery as well," Chau said. (Xinhua)