Hong Kong businesses and their counterparts in the Pearl River Delta need to strike more partnerships if the area is to develop a solid economic base, according to Guangdong governor Lu Ruihua.
Mr Lu said information technology was one key area for closer ties, and he encouraged companies in Hong Kong and the mainland to jointly develop markets at home and explore business opportunities abroad, including Russia and Asean countries.
Mr Lu told Hong Kong enterprises they should single out the investment obstacles they were facing and he promised red tape would be cut.
He was speaking in a closed-door meeting with a business delegation led by Hong Kong Trade Development Council chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching yesterday.
Other delegates included Victor Lo Chung-wing, chairman of Gold Peak Industries (Holdings), James Hughes-Hallett, chairman of John Swire & Sons (HK), V Tech Group chairman Allan Wong and USI International chairman Christopher Cheng.
The delegation began a four-day tour of the Pearl River Delta, with the aim of bringing business co-operation opportunities down to enterprise-to-enterprise level, rather than between governments.