20 YEARS OF CEPA TO BE CELEBRATED

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will launch a series of activities in the second half of this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Mainland & Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). 

The Mainland and Hong Kong signed CEPA 20 years ago today, on June 29, 2003, and it helped to revitalise Hong Kong in the wake of the SARS outbreak that year. It is the Mainland’s most liberal free trade agreement and has played a significant role in the country’s reform and opening up.

CEPA has also underpinned the “one country, two systems” principle in Hong Kong, reinforcing the city’s unique status and advantages in enjoying strong support from the country while being closely connected to the rest of the world.

A spokesperson for the Commerce & Economic Development Bureau said: “CEPA is a free trade agreement that keeps developing with the times. Adopting a building-block approach, the Mainland and Hong Kong have continuously enriched the content of CEPA over the years. CEPA has now been upgraded to a comprehensive and modern free trade agreement, covering trade in services, trade in goods, investment, and economic and technical co-operation.”

The spokesperson stressed that Hong Kong plays a key two-way role in promoting the Mainland’s development through CEPA, firstly by channelling international capital, talent, business networks and expertise into the Mainland, and secondly by providing a platform that helps Mainland enterprises go global.

CEPA also includes measures for investment protection and facilitation, helping to boost investor confidence, ease investment flows and promote overall investment liberalisation between the two places.

According to data provided by the Census & Statistics Department, bilateral merchandise trade between Hong Kong and the Mainland increased from HK$1,528.2 billion in 2003, before CEPA’s implementation, to HK$4,648.4 billion in 2022.

The bureau’s spokesperson expressed thanks to all quarters of the community for supporting CEPA over the years, and called on businesses and the public to support and participate in upcoming celebrations. These will include roving exhibitions at various locations such as large shopping malls and tertiary institutions, a special TV programme, and a short promotional video jointly produced by the Trade & Industry Department and Radio Television Hong Kong.

The spokesperson added: “Looking ahead, the HKSAR Government will continue to actively seek to enrich CEPA's content and assist the trade in making good use of its preferential measures, striving to foster prosperous development of the two places.”

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