Joint mainland-HK ‘smart city’ deal signed off
Agreement reached at Internet Economy Summit to build tech hubs on both sides of the border, with backing of businesses and governments
Business groups from the mainland and Hong Kong, with the backing of their governments, yesterday signed an unprecedented deal to develop “smart cities” on both sides.
The agreement between the mainland’s Smart City Development Alliance and Hong Kong’s Smart City Consortium at yesterday’s Internet Economy Summit would jointly promote business exchanges with the aim of harnessing technology to improve people’s lives.
This follows Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s policy address last year when he first proposed using Kowloon East as a pilot area.
He followed up in this year’s policy speech with his vision of turning Hong Kong into a smart city, starting with expanding free Wi-Fi services to bus stops and shopping arcades, having more mobile-friendly data services, and encouraging “intelligent homes”.
“Hong Kong has great competitive advantage in developing an internet economy with its world class infrastructure, young talents, mature financial system, and comprehensive legal framework,” Xu Lin, deputy director of China’s Cyberspace Administration told the audience at the summit.