The signing ceremony of the collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing on March 15, 2023. (PHOTO: MOST)

By CHEN Chunyou

Hong Kong serves as a bridge linking China's mainland and the world. In recent years, the central government has actively supported Hong Kong's integration into the country's overall development, and its connection with the mainland becomes increasingly closer.

During this year's Two Sessions, Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu attended the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, after which he led a delegation to visit central ministries and some provinces, to explore more cooperative opportunities.

Of note is the agreement signed by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Hong Kong this March, to promote talent flow and technology transfer, sharing of technology resources and the common growth between the mainland and Hong Kong.

Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang said this will help Hong Kong accelerate the building of an international innovation and technology hub, and allow it to better play its role in advancing the country's efforts to achieve greater self-reliance on the tech front.

Also, this March, the first academician workstation called Technovation Center was launched in Hong Kong. It was co-founded by Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and the China State Construction International Holdings Limited, and led by Chen Xiangsheng, a CAE academician.

The workstation will introduce mainland's cutting-edge research achievements to Hong Kong's construction industry, seek to make technological breakthroughs in the fields of infrastructure and smart construction, and advance the green upgrading of its traditional construction sector.

The establishment of the center is in line with the future development direction of Hong Kong in innovation and technology, said Hong Kong's Acting Chief Executive Eric Chan Kwok-ki, who looked forward to future collaborations of local industries with Technovation Center, to help bring construction technologies of Hong Kong and the mainland to a higher level.