Mayor of Shenzhen Xu Zongheng and his delegation arrived in Hong Kong Monday for a three-day visit to strengthen cooperation between the two regions.

Xu Zongheng held talks with Donald Tsang, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and then a discussion with Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR Rafael Hui and a group of senior Hong Kong officials.

Both sides reviewed the progress of work since the signing of a memorandum on enhancing cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong and eight other cooperation agreements ("1+8" agreements) in June 2004.

They also exchanged views on a number of subjects in relation to Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation, including checkpoints, infrastructure, town planning, implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between the mainland and Hong Kong, science and technology, environmental protection, food safety and education.

After the discussion, Rafael Hui said, "Hong Kong attaches great importance to its relationship and co-operation with Shenzhen. The meeting today has enhanced mutual understanding. We have also set out the way forward for further cooperation."

"I believe that cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in various major areas would make great strides and achieve concrete results," he added

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2005)