On 16 May 2023, a nine-member delegation of the Henan Provincial Government led by Governor Wang Kai visited Hong Kong. During the trip, the delegation had a meeting with leaders of the Hong Kong Chinese Importers’ and Exporters’ Association (HKCIEA), including President Pui Kwan-kay, Vice President and Honorary President Wan Hang-ping, several Executive Directors and Directors. Both sides discussed the prospect of cooperation between Henan and Hong Kong. They also explored the possibility of establishing a regular exchange mechanism.

According to Governor Wang, Henan hopes to leverage Hong Kong’s status as an international trade hub to allow more Henan enterprises and products to go global. He looks forward to collaborating with HKCIEA in a broad range of areas, including trade facilitation, trade rules, trade talents and resources.

President Pui pointed out that Hong Kong has advantages in digital finance, IT, biomedicine and new energy. HKCIEA will actively play the role of a bridge and encourage members to visit Henan. He added that Henan and Hong Kong can complement each other well, and he believes both sides can identify many business opportunities and achieve win-win situations.

Legislative Council member Kennedy Wong Ying-ho (import-export) expressed hopes that Hong Kong can be connected with Henan in the realm of e-commerce, and that Hong Kong will help speed up the process of exporting Henan products to other countries via Hong Kong. He hopes HKCIEA will discuss with the Henan Department of Commerce the possibility of establishing a Hong Kong warehouse in Zhengzhou, so that more Hong Kong products could be exhibited and sold there, and that the resulting synergy would lead to the opening of a new market.

HKCIEA Executive Director Lee Shing-put said that an important part of promoting international trade lies in the integration of trade rules. Foreign merchants need to have enough confidence to be able to make a difference. In this regard, Hong Kong is highly experienced and therefore can share its experience with Henan Province.

Among the HKCIEA representatives attending the meeting were Vice Honorary Secretary Byron Wong Tsz-wan, Executive Director Cheung Man-ka, Directors Yu Cheung-hoi, Zou Lei, Ng Ching-wun, Yu Tak-ming and Tang Kam-tim.