Officially promulgated in 2011, the National 12th Five-Year Plan unprecedentedly included a chapter dedicated to the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions. This was a significant breakthrough at the time. The National 14th Five-Year Plan (the Plan) was approved at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th National People’s Congress on 11 March 2021. The Plan has established a clear positioning for Hong Kong’s future development, covering three major development directions encompassing political, economic and social perspectives. With the Plan’s forward-looking guidance, the parts relating to Hong Kong will surely help further promote the diversification and sustainable development of Hong Kong’s economy. The Plan affords continued support for Hong Kong to enhance its status as international financial, transportation and trade centre and establish itself as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, new impetus has been given to four emerging sectors, i.e. supporting Hong Kong in reinforcing its position as an international aviation hub and developing itself as an international innovation and technology hub, a regional intellectual property trading centre, and an East‑meets‑West centre for international cultural exchange. Moreover, the Plan supports the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). All these demonstrate not only the Central Government’s confidence in Hong Kong’s strong competitive edge in various areas but also its unwavering support for Hong Kong. The contents of the Plan directly related to Hong Kong can be found in Chapter 61 (on maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao) and in the section relating to GBA development in Chapter 31 (on the implementation of major regional development strategies). Civil service colleagues are strongly encouraged to read through the Plan, particularly the parts pertinent to Hong Kong. It is worth pointing out that the successful execution of the Plan requires more than just the rolling out of policies and measures by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government. It is perhaps even more crucial to see to it that efforts would be made to better facilitate and assist non-governmental sectors, particularly the business community, in seizing the vast opportunities of our country.

China is now the second-largest economy in the world. With its peaceful rise, our country has made enormous strides in economic development. The future of Hong Kong lies in the integration into our country’s overall development. It is imperative that Hong Kong continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation with the Mainland for complementary development and enhancement of competitiveness. The continued success of Hong Kong primarily hinges on the Motherland’s support and our global outlook. There are plenty of development opportunities in the Mainland, and business opportunities are not just limited to the southern and eastern parts of our country — already familiar to the people of Hong Kong. New possibilities have been opened up in the central and western regions where the scope for exploration and development is even greater. The HKSAR Government has set up five offices and eleven liaison units in our country’s eastern, southern, western, northern and central parts — establishing an extensive presence and complete network throughout the Mainland. These offices discharge essential duties such as strengthening liaison and communication with the local authorities, fostering closer economic partnership and cooperation, promoting Hong Kong, and rendering support to Hong Kong people and enterprises. Civil service colleagues may encourage different community sectors to make optimal use of the HKSAR Government’s network of Mainland offices and hop aboard the “fast train” of our country’s development. Besides, civil service colleagues are encouraged and welcome to take on challenges by joining the teams of our Mainland offices or liaison units to personally experience the rapid development of our country.

With the onus to administer and develop Hong Kong, civil servants of the HKSAR Government are entrusted with pivotal tasks, including sustaining Hong Kong’s economic development, facilitating the overall advancement of our society, and fulfilling people’s aspirations for a better life. As the global situation has become increasingly complex, we should continue to enrich ourselves by acquiring a deeper understanding of our country’s development strategies. A key topic is accelerating the establishment of a new development pattern featuring “dual circulation”, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while enabling domestic and international markets to interact positively with each other. Other important topics are the changing dynamics of international relations, including interactions between China and the United States, as well as China’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other neighbouring countries. In this way, we shall be able to keep pace with the future development of our country and dedicate ourselves to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as well as the bright future of Hong Kong.