The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Wednesday signed 38 cooperation agreements with south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, totaling 48.4 billion yuan (6.7 billion U.S. dollars) in contract value.

Nearly three-quarters of the 26 investment projects are focused on emerging industries such as innovation and technology, electronics information, and food processing, accounting for more than 90 percent of the total contract value.

Addressing the event, HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee said that as Guangxi doubles its efforts in building out a new development paradigm, Hong Kong is eager to leverage its logistics, port management expertise, high-end business services, and high value-added supporting services such as legal and funding services to bolster enterprises in Guangxi and other parts of west China.

Officials and business insiders believe that the autonomous region, with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as its closest and most closely connected regional economic and technology hub, is poised to better integrate into the GBA's supply, capital, and industrial chains. Business opportunities also abound for Guangxi in the China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) industrial cooperation zone.

John Lee Ka-chiu (back left), chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Liu Ning (back right), secretary of the CPC Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Committee, attend the cooperation agreement signing ceremony during the 2024 Guangxi-Hong Kong Promotion Conference and Major Project Signing Ceremony in Hong Kong on May 22, 2024. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)