Tse Chin-wan signs food import cooperation pact in Beijing
RTHK · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Environment and Ecology Secretary Tse Chin-wan began his Beijing itinerary with meetings covering environmental cooperation and food safety administration. During the visit, he signed a memorandum with the General Administration of Customs on cooperation over the registration of food production enterprises involved in Hong Kong-mainland food trade.
Key Points
- Tse met Vice Minister Li Gao of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on 8 September in Beijing to discuss environmental protection, carbon neutrality and green transition work.
- The talks also covered progress on the Greater Bay Area pilot for a Beautiful China, Beautiful Bay initiatives, a waste-free bay area and the green Belt and Road agenda
- On 9 September, Tse met Zhang Baofeng (張寶峰), deputy head of the General Administration of Customs, and signed a cooperation memorandum on registration management for import and export food producers.
- Both sides agreed to cooperate on registration lists for Hong Kong food producers exporting to the mainland and mainland producers supplying food to Hong Kong.
- The arrangement includes stronger exchanges on food safety supervision rules, legal requirements, regulatory procedures, technical standards and hygiene requirements for overseas food producers involved in import and export trade
Why It Matters
The memorandum sets up a more formal channel for Hong Kong and mainland authorities to coordinate how food production enterprises are registered and supervised, which is directly relevant to cross-boundary food supply and safety oversight. Tse's parallel meetings on green transition and regional environmental initiatives also show Hong Kong is tying food regulation cooperation to broader integration with national policy priorities.