Zhejiang province and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region launch a new cooperation mechanism at the first high-level meeting of the first plenary session of the Zhejiang-Hong Kong Cooperation Conference in Hangzhou on Thursday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhejiang province and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region launched a new cooperation mechanism at the first high-level meeting of the first plenary session of the Zhejiang-Hong Kong Cooperation Conference in Hangzhou on Thursday.

John Lee Ka-chiu, chief executive of the HKSAR, and Wang Hao, Party chief of Zhejiang, attended the meeting and witnessed the cooperation mechanism's launch. At the meeting, the two governments identified 13 key cooperation areas encompassing 51 projects. Four cooperation files were signed, covering technological innovation, housing, economic and trade cooperation, youth development and other fields, expanding exchanges and collaboration.

"Zhejiang and Hong Kong share deep-rooted ties, like members of one family," said Wang. "Over the years, our cooperation across various fields has grown stronger and more practical."

Hong Kong is Zhejiang's largest source of overseas investment, its largest service trade partner and the second-largest destination for Zhejiang's outbound investment. In 2024, trade between Zhejiang and Hong Kong reached $8.82 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.9 percent, with Zhejiang's exports to Hong Kong amounting to $8.44 billion, up 12.4 percent. By the end of 2024, Hong Kong had cumulatively invested in 32,199 enterprises in Zhejiang, while Zhejiang had invested in 3,181 enterprises or institutions in Hong Kong.