Hong Kong to hold joint Belt and Road conference in Beijing

Hong Kong’s government will hold a joint conference with other officials in Beijing on June 12 to discuss the city’s involvement in China’s sprawling Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

The conference will detail Hong Kong’s “full participation in and contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative, the work priorities and initiatives to be implemented for the year,” according to an announcement yesterday from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Teresa Cheng, Hong Kong’s secretary for justice, Edward Yau, the secretary for commerce and economic development, and Patrick Nip, the secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, will lead the group heading to Beijing, which also includes officials from the Development Bureau, Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

The National Development and Reform Commission, Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council and other central authorities will also participate, the release said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative to connect countries along economic corridors across Asia and Europe has met with increasing acceptance from both developing and developed nations. The plan could boost global trade by as much as 12 percent by halving trading costs, according a June 6 report from an economist at ING Groep NV.Eric Lam, Bloomberg