On the morning of April 21, the inauguration ceremony for the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone was held in Nansha, Guangzhou. Hu Chunhua, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, unveiled the sign for the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Leung Chun-ying, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, attended the inauguration ceremony. Zhu Xiaodan, Governor of Guangdong Province, delivered a speech at the ceremony and unveiled the signs for the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone Working Office and the management committees of the various zones within the free trade zone.
Provincial leaders Huang Longyun, Ma Xingrui, Lin Mushen, Ren Xuefeng, Li Jia, Zhao Yufang, and Liang Weifa; Chen Hai-fan, Secretary for Administration and Justice of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government; representatives from central government units stationed in Guangzhou, foreign consulates in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao business associations, and Fortune 500 companies; attended the inauguration ceremony. Xu Shaohua, Standing Committee Member of the Provincial Party Committee and Executive Vice Governor, presided over the ceremony.
Zhu Xiaodan pointed out that Guangdong is a pioneer province in China's reform and opening up. The national approval to establish the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone fully demonstrates the high importance and ardent expectations placed on Guangdong, injecting new and powerful impetus into our comprehensive deepening of reform and opening up, and the further advancement of closer cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. The unveiling of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone marks the official commencement of its construction.
Guangdong will adhere to the construction of the pilot free trade zone as its top priority project in comprehensively deepening reform and comprehensively expanding opening up, striving to be at the forefront of the national pilot free trade zone construction. Guangdong sincerely welcomes investors and service providers from all over the world, especially from Hong Kong and Macao, to seize the opportunity and actively participate in the construction and development of the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone. Under the correct leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, with the care, guidance, and strong support of the governments of the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, relevant national ministries and commissions, and all sectors of society, Guangdong will strive to build the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone into a demonstration area for in-depth cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao; a strategic hub for the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative; and a pioneer in a new round of reform and opening up nationwide, making new contributions to national reform, opening up, and modernization.
At the inauguration ceremony, Leung Chun-ying, Zhu Xiaodan, and Chen Hai-fan presented awards to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao (International) Youth Innovation Workshop, the Qianhai Hong Kong Advantageous Industry Development Base, and the Hengqin Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Valley project. Provincial and municipal leaders, together with invited guests from Hong Kong and Macao, presented plaques and licenses to representatives of enterprises and institutions entering the pilot free trade zone.
After the inauguration ceremony, the attending leaders and guests also visited the exhibition boards of the various zones in the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone and the "one-stop service" hall of the Nansha New Area zone.
