Chen Maobo: Hong Kong and Shaanxi can deepen cooperation in multiple areas.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan continues his visit to Xi'an today.

Today, Chan met with Zhao Yide, Secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, to exchange in depth views on further strengthening cooperation between Shaanxi and Hong Kong. Chan said that Shaanxi has a strong concentration of innovative resources and robust scientific research strength, with a complete and thriving industrial chain in areas including national hard-tech R&D, aerospace and aviation, and the manufacturing of key equipment. Hong Kong, leveraging its advantages as an international financial center and provider of high-end professional services under “one country, two systems,” together with its common law system and free port status, serves as an important hub connecting the mainland with international markets.

He said that the two sides can deepen cooperation in areas such as innovation and R&D, the transformation of research outcomes, the cultivation of innovative enterprises and IPO/financing through listings, as well as talent exchange and higher education. This will help better align Shaanxi’s strengths in scientific research and industry with Hong Kong’s strengths in finance and internationalization, so as to achieve shared resources, mutual empowerment, and mutual accomplishment, and to work together to serve the country’s development of new productive forces and high-quality development. He invited businesses in Xi'an to form delegations to visit Hong Kong, exchange and connect with Hong Kong businesses and the investment community, and explore further cooperation.

In the morning, Chan visited Northwestern Polytechnical University, met with the university president, Song Baowei, and held discussions with technology and innovation enterprises. He then delivered a speech to more than 200 faculty, students, and alumni, conducting in-depth exchanges on promoting hard-tech innovation, transforming outcomes, and deepening cooperation between Xi'an and Hong Kong in scientific research and industrial development.

In his speech, Chan pointed out that students at Northwestern Polytechnical University have shown, in various aspects, the craftsmanship spirit of taking technology and products to the extreme. However, for technology to move from the laboratory to the world, it depends not only on whether the product is advanced, but also on whether it can stand up to tests such as supply-chain restructuring and alignment with international standards.

He said that globalization is shifting from the past approach of “efficiency first” to a balance of “efficiency and resilience.” Supply chain security, independent development of core technologies, and cross-border regulation have become key considerations. Against this backdrop, the country is strengthening basic research and innovation from the source, using long-term accumulated “slow variables” to support breakthroughs. At the same time, fields such as artificial intelligence, advanced materials, and quantum technology are crossing the industrialization threshold, forming coordinated development of “technology clusters” to drive the development of new industries, new models, and new growth drivers.

Chan said that Xi'an has a deep foundation in hard tech and is an important fertile ground for accumulating related technological capabilities, and that its outcomes are accelerating their conversion to civilian use. Hong Kong, with its common law system, free port advantages, and internationalized platform, gathers capital, talent, and professional services to help connect scientific and technological achievements with international markets, promoting the model of “R&D in Xi'an, empowerment by Hong Kong, and global application.”

He encouraged young people to have strong professional skills and a broad vision, and to proactively step into the intersection of “finance + technology.” At the same time, they should be grounded in the country while looking toward the world—seizing opportunities amid changing circumstances and enhancing their own sustainable competitiveness, so as to grasp the broad opportunities brought by technological development.

Chan will continue his itinerary in Xi'an tomorrow and will attend the First Western China Commercial Aerospace Conference.