China's two special administrative regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macao, will be more involved in the country's latest five-year development plan, a senior government official said Monday Jan 10).
Wang Guangya, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks here during a meeting with a delegation of senior media leaders from the Hong Kong SAR.
Hong Kong and Macao were elevated in the country's development plans, said Wang, citing the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's Proposal for Formulating the 12th Five-Year Program for China's Economic and Social Development (2011-2015).
The proposal stressed enhanced exchanges between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, and particularly deeper cooperation between Hong Kong, Macao and neighboring Guangdong Province to promote regional economic development.
Wang said the country's economic restructuring and transformation of its development mode would offer opportunities for Hong Kong and Mocao.
He promised timely reports on the requirements from Hong Kong and Macao to the central government in order to facilitate their wider and more in-depth participation in the country's development.
Wang also praised the media's role in Hong Kong.
Wang, a former vice foreign minister who took up his current post in October last year, will pay his first visit to Hong Kong and Macao in the spring.
