Hong Kong’s John Lee to visit Zhejiang’s powerhouse cities to strengthen ties

Hong Kong’s chief executive will lead a delegation to the cities of Hangzhou and Ningbo, a technological powerhouse and an industrial hub in mainland China’s Zhejiang province, on Tuesday to set up a “specific cooperation mechanism” to strengthen ties.

John Lee Ka-chiu will be joined by seven top Hong Kong officials on the three-day trip and will meet leaders from the two cities and the wider province, the government said on Sunday.

The delegation would also visit local facilities and projects specialising in areas such as healthcare, and innovation and technology, it added.

Hangzhou, the province’s capital and largest city, emerged as a major tech powerhouse in recent years and is home to artificial intelligence company DeepSeek. Ningbo, meanwhile, is a major port and industrial hub in the eastern part of the mainland.

“Mr Lee said that Hong Kong and Zhejiang have long maintained frequent exchanges, keeping close ties in economic affairs and trade, cultural exchanges and youth engagement. Under the overall blueprint of the country, both places play important and unique roles,” the Hong Kong government said.

“A specific cooperation mechanism between the two places will be established through this visit, further strengthening collaboration, achieving complementarity and mutual benefits, and making greater contributions to the country’s high-quality development.”