The Chongqing-Hong Kong Cooperation Conference Mechanism was officially established on May 11, 2023. Both parties commit to principles of market orientation, government guidance, environmental prioritization, and structural optimization. 

Building upon existing collaboration foundations, development directions, and expected goals, they jointly identify key areas and specific projects for cooperation in a certain period in the future.

Both Chongqing and Hong Kong will hold meetings and related activities on an as-needed basis to promptly summarize key challenges, beneficial experiences, and effective practices in cooperation and clarify specific content for the next stage of collaboration.

Education

According to Mo Longfei, chief supervisor of the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission, Chongqing has granted qualifications for nine universities, including Chongqing University, to participate in joint entrance examinations for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan students. Hong Kong students studying in Chongqing have steadily increased in recent years.

Meanwhile, there is strong support for Chongqing universities to expand their presence beyond Chongqing, engaging in research, teaching collaborations, and faculty-student exchanges with institutions such as the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the City University of Hong Kong.

In promoting collaboration between educational research institutions in the two cities, the Chongqing Educational Evaluation Institute and related institutions in Hong Kong and Macao jointly initiated the establishment of the Huaxia Education Evaluation Alliance. 

This alliance will integrate educational evaluation resources from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao, conduct collaborative research on educational evaluation, introduce educational evaluation standards, establish experimental zones for educational evaluation reform, and promote educational and teaching reforms in these countries. Currently, the alliance has 117 member institutions.

Economy and trade

Economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between Chongqing and Hong Kong have deepened in recent years. In 2022, Chongqing's total import and export volume with Hong Kong reached 56.11 billion yuan ($7.78 billion), making Hong Kong the fourth largest trading partner of Chongqing, said Ye Lina, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce. 

In September 2018, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council signed a Memorandum of Strategic Cooperation in Hong Kong to promote enhanced exchanges and cooperation between enterprises in the two regions, particularly in finance, trade, and professional services.

At the first meeting of the Chongqing-Hong Kong Cooperation Conference, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council signed a new version of the Memorandum of Strategic Cooperation. 

This Memorandum aims to deepen and upgrade economic and trade cooperation between Chongqing and Hong Kong, focusing on areas such as promoting trade, two-way investment, a comprehensive pilot program for further opening up of the service sector, supporting the construction of an international consumption center, and benchmarking international economic and trade rules.

Scientific and technological innovation

To facilitate cooperation and exchanges in innovation and technology between Chongqing and Hong Kong, fully leverage the strengths of both sides and achieve complementary advantages, the Chongqing Municipal Science and Technology Bureau and the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on Innovation and Technology between Chongqing and Hong Kong at the first meeting of the Chongqing-Hong Kong Cooperation Conference.

Cheng Wei, deputy secretary of the Party committee of the Chongqing Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, stated that the following steps will focus on further promoting innovation and technology cooperation between Chongqing and Hong Kong through strengthening joint research and development, establishing platforms for innovation cooperation, and facilitating exchanges in technology and culture.

This article is updated on March 26, 2024.

(Ren Xiaoyu, as an intern, also contributed to this article.)