14 key takeaways from John Lee’s policy address, Hong Kong’s first 5-year plan

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has placed deepening integration with China" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="142227" data-entity-type="location">mainland China and developing new economic engines centre stage as he unveiled the city’s first-ever five-year plan alongside the last policy address of his term.During his landmark speech on Wednesday, which ran just one minute shy of three hours, Lee laid out how the city’s first five-year plan would align the city more closely with the national development blueprint, while the policy address would serve as the “action agenda”.The China-morning-post" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="12558" data-entity-type="organization">South China Morning Post looks at some takeaways from the policy blueprint, including how authorities will build the Northern Metropolis megaproject while also tackling some of the city’s most pressing issues, including a low birth rate and Artificial Intelligence.1. Twenty-two major indicatorsThe five-year plan has set 22 major indicators, with 17 being anticipatory goals and five being binding targets.Four of the five binding targets focus on environmental protection, such as reducing carbon emissions per unit of GDP, as well as raising the number of “spade-ready sites” in the Northern Metropolis by 2030.Anticipatory goals include increasing the number of completed domestic units in the Northern Metropolis from the current 11,000 to 70,000, an average annual increase of 4-5 per cent in the total number of companies in Hong Kong with parent firms located outside the city, as well as boosting the value added of the tourism industry from HK$86.2 billion to HK$126 billion.2. ‘Four centres, one hub’ to hone Hong Kong’s global edgeThe five-year plan states that to ensure Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability, the city will have to leverage its existing advantages while expediting the development of “new quality productive forces” – a term first coined by President Xi Jinping in 2023.The plan calls for the enhancement of Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, maritime and trade centre, as well as developing the city into an international innovation and technology centre and a hub for “high-calibre talent”.