On March 8, Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang met in Beijing with a Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) delegation headed by its Council Chairman Andrew Liao Cheung-sing and President Wei Shyy. The two sides exchanged views on strengthening STI cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong, HKUST’s participation in national STI development and other topics. 

Minister Wang Zhigang firstly warmly welcomed the HKUST delegation to the Ministry of Science and Technology. He recalled his visit to HKUST in 2018 and thanked HKUST for its long-standing participation in STI cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong. Minister Wang Zhigang pointed out that the central government has long attached great importance to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and that President Xi Jinping has always cared about the development of and livelihood in Hong Kong. He stressed that the Ministry of Science and Technology will continue to support Hong Kong‘s integration into the national innovation system and participation in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as HKUST’s development and role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

President Wei Shyy thanked the Ministry of Science and Technology for its warm hospitality and long-term support for HKUST. He emphasized that the state has drawn up a blueprint for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from an overarching perspective and that HKUST will fully leverage its research strength, actively participate in national STI activities, deepen science and technology cooperation with the mainland, and facilitate the building of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international STI center.

Director-General Ye Dongbai of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs, Director-General Xu Jing of the Department of Strategic Planning, Director-General Zhang Xiaoyuan of the Department of Resource Allocation and Management, Director-General Ye Yujiang of the Department of Basic Research, and Deputy Director-General Xu Jie of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and Director-General Chen Jiachang of China Science and Technology Exchange Center attended the meeting. Director-General Jiang Jianxiang and Deputy Inspector Liu Zhiming of the Department of Education, Science and Technology of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were also present at the meeting.