The Hong Kong and Shenzhen authorities will study how to make border crossing more convenient, with the Shenzhen municipal government set to carry out enhancement works for the Luohu Port, the chief executive of the special administrative region said on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, John Lee Ka-chiu pointed out that the Shenzhen authorities will conduct maintenance and renovation works in the Luohu Port as the facilities had been used for many years.

“When we discussed with the Shenzhen side, they expressed their hope to complete the works very soon and improve relevant arrangement to ensure residents can cross the boundary smoothly,” he said.

Replying to question at the Legislative Council on June 26, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said the scope of works was limited to the Shenzhen side only and did not include the extension of MTR East Rail Line into Luohu district in Shenzhen.

The current immigration clearance mode will continue after the modification of the port, he added.

On Tuesday, the chief executive reiterated that the governments of Shenzhen and the HKSAR will continue to study other possible measures to make the border crossing more convenient.

Asked whether the SAR will discuss with the mainland authorities extending the service hours of different border control points during the summer holiday, Lee said it will depend on the actual needs and the figures of departure and arrivals.

Support for non-Chinese permanent residents

Regarding the Chinese mainland’s supporting measure to allow non-Chinese permanent residents in the SAR to enter the mainland using a card type document starting July 10, the CE termed the decision as “the best example of the advantage of one country and the convenience of two systems” to consolidate the city’s advantages.

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“This measure is a policy of innovation, taking care of the traveling need of non-Chinese permanent residents in Hong Kong regardless of their nationalities.”

The new measure will create synergy with other measures launched to facilitate two-way flow of people to attract more talents to Hong Kong and help non-Chinese permanent residents seize the opportunities brought by the national development, he emphasized.

Services trade liberalization

Speaking on the deepening of services trade liberalization between the mainland and the HKSAR under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, the CE said it will benefit sectors including law, finance, and construction, with relaxation measures for professionals in the SAR to expand their businesses to the mainland.

Relevant authorities have been finalizing the agreement and further details will be announced later, he added.

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Duty-free limit

Asked if there will be room for further increase in duty-free allowance of 15,000 yuan ($2,064) for mainland tourists, the CE stressed that it was a hard-earned result and collective work of different ministries and authorities of the central government.

“There have been a series of measures to support Hong Kong. They all add together to help Hong Kong and to ensure that economic development and prosperity will be realized in Hong Kong, and they will have an amplification effect and also will synergize to help Hong Kong as a whole. ,” he said.

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Stressing that Hong Kong is now in a stage of transition, he urged every sector to capitalize on all these measures and think of new ways to ensure Hong Kong will become another great success story.