HONG KONG, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The redeveloped Huanggang Port, which connects Hong Kong with Shenzhen, and the upcoming 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting will further enhance Hong Kong's connectivity with the Chinese mainland and the global economy, Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Sunday.
The redeveloped Huanggang Port that will open on Monday morning is designed to handle 200,000 visitor trips daily, five times that of the original port, Chan wrote on his blog.
Under a "collaborative inspection and joint clearance" mode, travelers need only go through one channel or counter for both departure and entry clearance, slashing processing time from 30 minutes at the original port to about five minutes.
One week after the redeveloped Huanggang Port opens, the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting will take place in Hong Kong for the first time, affirming Hong Kong's role as an international financial center, Chan said.
The HKSAR's trade with other APEC economies takes up 87 percent of its total trade value, noted Chan. Domestic output of the 21 APEC economies combined accounts for over 60 percent of the global total.
Chan said this year's meeting will focus on livelihood-oriented fiscal policies, financing for digital infrastructure, inclusive finance for small and medium-sized companies and youth exchanges in finance. Hong Kong can contribute to global progress in all of these areas, he said. ■
