Lee will also witness the signing of cooperation documents between the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the National Health Commission and the Health Bureau, respectively, on strengthening the training of healthcare talent and commencing projects on prevention and response against local communicable diseases.

He would be joined on the trip by financial services chief Christopher Hui Ching-yu and health minister Lo Chung-mau, a government spokesman said on Saturday.

Known as the “two sessions” meetings, or lianghui, the gatherings come at a time when mainland China and Hong Kong are grappling with sluggish economies and need fresh moves to reinvigorate growth in the face of domestic and external challenges.

The Hong Kong delegates have prepared hundreds of proposals to raise at the meetings, many centred on ideas to attract more mainland tourists, strengthen cross-border integration, and how the city can help mainland companies go global.

Proposals on Hong Kong competitiveness

“The keyword is unique,” said CPPCC Standing Committee member Henry Tang Ying-yen, who is chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and a former chief secretary.

“If Hong Kong became another Shanghai, Hong Kong would no longer be unique and would become a burden to the central government. We must not be a burden to the central government,” he told the Post.

Tang came up with seven proposals to boost the city’s competitiveness, building on its strong financial and legal systems and market, and complementing the country’s pursuit of high-quality development.

To attract more visitors, he will propose raising the duty-free shopping limit for mainlanders from the current 5,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan. He said the idea had the support of two-thirds of the 200 Hong Kong CPPCC members.

The city’s largest pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, has 30 proposals for the central government, including one to “streamline the vetting process” of the stock exchange to encourage more quality mainland companies to list in the city.

30,000 yuan in duty-free? Hong Kong CPPCC members want new cap for mainland visitors

The Liberal Party’s Nick Chan Hiu-fung, a delegate to the NPC, said Chinese firms had been affected by historically high inflation rates in Europe due partly to soaring energy prices and some “irresponsible self-serving yet inflation-exporting monetary policies” in the West.

He wants Beijing to promote Hong Kong’s professional services, especially in dispute resolution and the insurance and marine sectors, among mainland businesses.

He said mainland firms might not be aware that they did not need to rely only on “the Western club” for services related to foreign trade and going global.

“Why not think about Hong Kong’s better and cheaper services?” he asked.

What to watch for in meetings

Political analysts said there were some things to look out for when the meetings started. The CPPCC, China’s top political advisory body, has its opening session on Monday.

China is still facing multiple headwinds particularly after property investment fell by 9.6 per cent last year. This was despite last year’s economic growth of 5.2 per cent meeting the target of “around 5 per cent”.

The country’s growth targets and government work reports to be unveiled next week will be seen as the first report card for Premier Li Qiang and other state leaders who took up their new roles a year ago.

These announcements, together with the state leaders’ closed-door exchanges with Hong Kong delegates, will also provide clues to Beijing’s strategies and priorities for the city in the coming year.

Lau Siu-kai, a consultant from the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said some key issues expected to surface during the two sessions meetings were linked to Hong Kong: the mainland’s downturn in the real estate market, stagnant domestic consumption and the lack of foreign investment.

“These are not purely economic problems,” he said. “They were aggravated by suppression and smears by US-led foreign powers. Beijing has to ensure Hong Kong, as an externally oriented economy, will not be susceptible to undesirable influence by foreign forces.”

He said he expected that national security would continue to be a priority in the central government’s consideration of Hong Kong-related policies, even though the city had been calm since Beijing imposed the national security law in 2020.

National security and Hong Kong’s role

The year ahead is expected to be pivotal for the US-China relationship, and observers of the two sessions will be looking for signals from Beijing on this front.

Last year saw a series of high-level bilateral meetings, yet long-standing tensions continue to pose risks.

Washington’s export controls on high-end semiconductors and chipmaking tools to China have no sign of easing.

The latest crossfire occurred on Friday, over Hong Kong’s draft national security legislation, a requirement under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

China slams US ‘double standards’ over Hong Kong security law criticism

After a US State Department spokesman declared that the proposed legislation would weaken the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong people, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning shot back that Washington’s view was “completely naked political manipulation”.

But veteran China watcher Johnny Lau Yui-siu said he did not expect the Article 23 legislation to be raised at any group discussions attended by Hong Kong delegates, possibly reflecting Beijing’s preference that mainlanders not pay attention to the draft law.

He said he felt it was more urgent for top leaders to discuss how to make use of Hong Kong to boost foreign direct investment into the country, after reports suggested that last year’s total was 82 per cent lower than in 2022 and the lowest since 1993.

“Maintaining Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre is becoming more important than ever to attract overseas investors amid the ongoing geopolitical challenges,” he said.

“But this could be tougher than ever, especially if Beijing continues to emphasise national security in the city.”

Additional reporting by Denise Tsang