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HK Hosts China Investment, Trade Symposium
The 2000 China (Hong Kong) Investment and Trade Symposium opened Tuesday, December 19, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.
More than 500 representatives from 12 provinces and cities of China's mainland, including a dozen senior government officials, are attending the three-day event, bringing in 251 cooperative projects in some 16 different sectors that need investment and support from businesses in Hong Kong and other parts of the world.
The symposium, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, showcased the ministry's major annual economic and trade promotion activity in Hong Kong providing Hong Kong companies engaging in China trade and investment with practical information and a host of business opportunities.
A one-day seminar on China's investment policy was also held Tuesday with emphasis on the mainland's two major economic strategies, the "go west" program and the accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Following China's WTO entry, it can be expected that the country's external trade will soar from US$400 billion this year to 700 billion within five years, Michael Sze, executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said at the opening ceremony of the symposium, adding that the figure may even escalate to US$1 trillion by 2010.
The Chinese mainland has been Hong Kong's largest trading partner since 1985. Currently, about 40 percent of China's overseas trade is conducted via Hong Kong, which has also long been the mainland's major source of overseas investment, Sze said.
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