CHINA’S top legislator Zhang Dejiang arrived in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) yesterday to attend the Belt and Road Summit.

    Zhang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee who chairs China’s top legislature, will also inspect the Hong Kong SAR during the three-day trip, which is the first by such a senior official in four years.

    Zhang’s plane touched down around noon at the Hong Kong International Airport, where he was welcomed by Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and a brass band.

    In a short speech on the tarmac, Zhang said he brought a “caring heart” from the Central Government as well as “hearty greetings and good wishes” from President Xi Jinping.

    He noted there was “very nice weather” in both Beijing and Hong Kong, and said he would look at the work of the Hong Kong government and the changes in the lives of city residents.

    Zhang said he would listen to the public’s “suggestions and demands” over how the city is governed.

    During the trip, Zhang will be briefed by the SAR chief executive and government officials on their work, and listen to advice and opinions from all circles of life on implementing the Basic Law and the “One Country, Two Systems” principle as well as on the national and SAR developments.

    Zhang will deliver a keynote speech today at the Belt and Road Summit sponsored by the SAR government and also give a formal speech at the welcome dinner held by the SAR government.

    Also yesterday, the Ministry of Commerce said since 2003, the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and its ensuing 10 supplements have boosted trade, tourism and business ties between the two sides.

    CEPA assigned zero tariffs to all Hong Kong products and the mainland imported US$9.7 billion of goods from Hong Kong between 2006 and March 2016, with tax abatement reaching US$825 million, according to the ministry.

    Trade in services has also thrived, with its volume accounting for 17.2 percent of the mainland’s total service trade.

    Mainland tourist visits to Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme rose from 670,000 in 2003 to 27.9 million last year. By 2014, such visits had generated US$99.3 billion in revenue for Hong Kong.

    Almost 8,000 individual businesses from Hong Kong had registered in the mainland by the end of 2015, creating over 20,000 jobs.(Xinhua)