Hong Kong, mainland China working together to reopen border, John Lee says as he stresses aim to reduce travel fuss without increasing Covid risks
- City leader tells Asian business summit that newly eased travel rules for overseas arrivals ‘in no way contradictory’ to reopening to rest of country
- He hails ‘3+4’ quarantine arrangement and administration’s earlier move to lift flight-suspension mechanism
Hong Kong and mainland China are working together with “good” communication on fully reopening their border, the city’s leader has said, underscoring his continued push to restore regular travel without increasing the risk of spreading Covid-19 to the rest of the country.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu was on Wednesday addressing business chambers from the mainland and other parts of Asia at a summit, five days after a long-awaited easing of quarantine rules for overseas arrivals came into effect.
Lee said he was well aware that companies had been calling for the resumption of quarantine-free travel with the mainland and reiterated pursuing that goal was in “no way contradictory” to opening up to the rest of the world.
“We have been maintaining good liaison with mainland counterparts,” he said at the Hong Kong Summit. “We support and respect the mainland’s anti-epidemic strategies and maintain cooperation in joint prevention and control.
“My preliminary goal is to reduce the degree of inconvenience to travellers without bringing about additional risks to the mainland’s epidemic situation.”