ENG-2019 — Page 55

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Constitution and Administration

a Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to coordinate with central ministries, the Guangdong and Macao governments and the HKSAR policy bureaus to take forward the Greater Bay Area development.

Cooperation with Other Mainland Provinces and Municipalities

The HKSAR Government cooperates with various municipal and provincial governments in areas including trade, finance, I&T, creative industries and youth exchanges. In September, the Chief Executive led a delegation to attend the 2019 PPRD Regional Cooperation Chief Executive Joint Conference in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and discussed various matters with other government leaders of the PPRD provinces and regions, including the Greater Bay Area development, the New Western Land-Sea Corridor and the Belt and Road Initiative. The HKSAR Government also actively implemented the cooperation items agreed under different cooperation mechanisms. For instance, as agreed at the Fourth Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Cooperation Conference held in 2018, the HKSAR Government participated in the China International Import Expo and organised Festival Hong Kong 2019 - A Cultural Extravaganza@Shanghai, a mega cultural event, in Shanghai in November.

HKSAR's Offices in Mainland

The HKSAR Government has five offices in the Mainland, namely the Beijing Office and the four Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) in Chengdu, Guangdong, Shanghai and Wuhan3. It also has 11 liaison units, located in Liaoning, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Fujian, Guangxi, Shandong, Zhejiang, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Hunan and Henan. These offices and units enhance government-to-government liaison as well as trade and commercial relations and investment promotion in the Mainland; and provide support to Hong Kong residents and enterprises in the Mainland. Immigration divisions operate in the five offices to provide practical help to Hong Kong residents in distress or seeking assistance in the Mainland, handle immigration matters and provide an HKSAR passport replacement service.

Exchanges with Taiwan

Hong Kong and Taiwan have close economic, cultural and social ties. Taiwan was Hong Kong's third largest trading partner in goods, with two-way trade amounting to US$53,437 million in 2019. The number of arrivals from Taiwan to Hong Kong totalled 1.54 million.

Hong Kong cooperates with Taiwan on public policy areas through the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Cooperation and Promotion Council, while the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office in Taiwan promotes Hong Kong's image, strengthens exchanges between the two places and serves Hong Kong residents and businesses in Taiwan.

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The Beijing Office covers Beijing, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, Ningxia, Tianjin and Xinjiang. The Guangdong ETO covers Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Yunnan. The Shanghai ETO covers Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanghai and Zhejiang. The Chengdu ETO covers Chongqing, Guizhou, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Tibet. The Wuhan ETO covers Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Shanxi.

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