The Beijing municipal government issued a series of specific
policies on Friday to promote the implementation of the Closer
Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), which took effect at the
turn of the New Year.
Wang Hui, an official from the Beijing municipal government,
announced that various government departments in the capital city
are making efforts to create bridges with Hong Kong and streamline
administrative procedures.
"As 273 Hong Kong-originated products began enjoying zero
tariffs on the mainland as stipulated in CEPA, the Beijing Commerce
Bureau has set up a specific office to provide related information
and promote bilateral co-operation for local commercial retailers
and Hong Kong manufacturers," said Li Zhao, director of the
bureau.
The Beijing Logistics Association will join hands with Hong Kong
institutes to hold promotional fairs twice a year to help Hong Kong
businesses participate in the construction of the capital city's
logistics parks, which have been targetted as a key project of the
Beijing 10th Five-Year Development Plan (2001-05) and the 2008
Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, the Beijing Commerce Bureau and the Hong Kong Trade
Development Council will hold meetings twice a year to conduct
negotiations on key economic and trade issues affecting the capital
city and the special region.
In addition, the Beijing Development Planning Commission has
joined hands with related Hong Kong departments to encourage
qualified Beijing enterprises to list on the key board and second
board stock markets in Hong Kong.
Official statistics show that, by the end of November, there
were 6,875 Hong Kong-funded enterprises in Beijing, with
contractual investments worth US$17.47 billion.
According to Wang, besides the business aspects, co-operation
between Beijing and Hong Kong may be extended to medical, legal and
tourism services in line with CEPA.
The Beijing Health Bureau announced that, to facilitate
personnel and technology exchanges between local and Hong Kong
medical institutes, permanent Hong Kong residents majoring in
traditional Chinese medicine and having graduated from specific
recognized Hong Kong universities, will get mainland qualified
doctor certificates after a one-year residency in mainland
hospitals and after passing a unified examination, they can work in
Beijing hospitals, according to Wang.
(China Daily January 3, 2004)