Beijing and Hong Kong have agreed to set up a top-level official mechanism to promote greater cooperation in such wide ranging areas as trade, human resources and the 2008 Olympic economy.

The plan was announced yesterday after a meeting between Beijing Party Secretary Liu Qi, Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan and Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.

China's capital city is holding a two-day high-level economic cooperation symposium in the territory.

"The mechanism indicates a new era of cooperation between Beijing and Hong Kong, and helps the two cities complement each other and accomplish mutual prosperity," Liu said at a joint media conference Thursday.

"It is also expected to bolster mutual exchanges in economy and trade between the two most important cities in China, and bring about limitless opportunities for both sides," Tung added.

The three-tier mechanism is known as the Beijing-Hong Kong Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference. It will be under the direct leadership of top executives of the two cities, who will hold meetings on a regular basis.

In addition, a vice-mayor of Beijing and Hong Kong's financial secretary will be responsible for implementing policies and issues drafted at the conference. In the third tier, Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, as well as top officials of Beijing Municipality's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office and Beijing Bureau of Commerce, will deal with communications and daily routines.

A similar cooperation mechanism is already in place between Hong Kong and Guangdong Province and has shown a positive effect in boosting mutual economic and social development.

Speaking after the first official meeting under the mechanism yesterday, Liu said the two sides had reached wide consensus in many areas, and identified seven important areas of cooperation trade, talent, tourism, culture, environmental protection, education as well as the Olympic economy.

"Beijing and Hong Kong have been trade partners for years. The country's robust economy, after its WTO entry, the broadening of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), as well as the looming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, combine to underpin mutual cooperation and to signal a promising future," Tung said.

When asked whether Beijing is competing with Hong Kong to attract people, Liu said that free flow of talent would be a win-win deal.

"Hong Kong is a hub for professionals with international perspectives and practices. Beijing, which shares a similar economic structure with Hong Kong, can leverage on the talent in Hong Kong. It is going to be good for both cities," said Liu.

The service industry is a pillar both for Hong Kong and Beijing. It accounts for 86 percent of Hong Kong's gross domestic product and more than 60 percent of Beijing's overall economy.

Tung said that he welcomed Beijing to attract talent in Hong Kong as a two-way flow of professionals would benefit his city as well.

During the eighth Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium, which opened yesterday, the capital city held a recruitment fair and offered 335 senior positions. The top job is a director of technology post offering a US$180,000 annual salary, while the annual salary for 76 percent of the total jobs offered exceeds HK$100,000 (US$12,820).

The two-day high-level symposium aims to attract Hong Kong investment for 130 Olympics-related projects, ranging from logistics to technology and manufacturing valued at more than US$10 billion.

The Beijing municipal government held a number of seminars to promote investment opportunities in the capital's fields of infrastructure, finance, trade and logistics.

In the first half of the year, Hong Kong investors set up 177 firms in Beijing, of which 57 will benefit from CEPA.

During the same period, the number of Beijing individual tourists visiting Hong Kong rose 2.5 times over a year earlier.

(China Daily September 3, 2004)