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China and Hong Kong sign two trade agreements giving local firms preferential investment access
Deals take immediate effect and build closer economic partnership
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China is further opening its doors to Hong Kong investors after two bilateral trade agreements were signed on Wednesday, a day before President Xi Jinping’s arrival to mark the 20th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule.
With immediate effect, the agreements grant local businesses most preferential investment access to the world’s second largest economy – in both service and non-services sectors – and pave the way for the city to further participate in China’s go global strategy.
The deals were the third and fourth agreements to be signed between the central government and Hong Kong under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), an economic scheme that allows qualifying products, companies, and residents of Hong Kong preferential access to the mainland market.
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Since 2003, 10 supplements and four agreements have been added to CEPA.
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Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po called the upgraded arrangement “a modern and comprehensive free trade agreement” that was “more attuned to the need of trade development between two sides and the new trend of international investments”.
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