Finance chief Paul Chan wants Hong Kong to mirror success of Guizhou, one of China’s poorest provinces

Financial Secretary Chan wants to make the city the premier financial and technology centre in China, and points to Guizhou as an example of what’s possible

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Chan (second right) attended the China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang and visited the demonstration centre of the Guizhou big data pilot zone to learn more about Guizhou's development goals. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:29pm, 27 May 2018Updated: 3:42pm, 28 May 2018

Two of Hong Kong’s top ministers vowed to turn the city into China’s premier financial and technology centre, in the same way that mainland cities such as Shenzhen and Guiyang have succeeded in transforming themselves into the country’s innovation hubs and boosting its economy.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who visited Guizhou on Saturday and Sunday, said innovation and technology had helped the province, one of the country’s poorest, to become one of its fastest-growing regions in recent years.

Last year, the gross domestic product of Guizhou, a mountainous inland region in southwestern China, was 1,354 billion yuan (US$211.9 billion) – a 10.2 per cent increase from the year before. In comparison, China’s GDP grew by 6.9 per cent, while Hong Kong’s GDP grew 3.7 per cent to US$340 billion last year. Guizhou’s population was 35.8 million, and Hong Kong’s was 7.4 million.

Chan (left) met with the Secretary of the Guiyang CPC Committee, Mr Zhao Deming (right) during his trip. Photo: Handout

Chan, who attended the China International Big Data Industry Expo at Guizhou’s capital of Guiyang, said the province’s economic development had lagged behind in the past but turned around.

“In recent years, provincial leaders [realised] the potential of big data and obtained national policy support,” he said. “It is starting to bear fruit, and the province has found its way in catching up [with the rest of the country].”