Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council (ECCPC) Chairman Charles Lee Saturday said co-operation between Hong Kong and Taiwan should be stepped up, so that they could complement the strengths of each other, thereby promoting the economic integration of the region.

Lee made the remark after he returned to Hong Kong from his visit to Taipei on Saturday. He said further strengthening the economic co-operation between the two places is a co-operation area agreed under the ECCPC and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council (THEC) platform.

"We both recognized the importance of establishing a closer economic co-operation framework, and the benefits it would bring to the developments of Hong Kong and Taiwan," he said, adding that the business sectors of both places have expressed clear and strong wishes that they should enter into a closer economic co- operation framework agreement.

Regarding the co-operation on creative industries, Lee said there is much room for co-operation between Hong Kong and Taiwan in terms of cultural and creative exchanges, especially both places use Chinese characters and have rich cultural background. The two places can jointly build Chinese creative brands.