On November 21, Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Bingnan and Hong Kong Financial Secretary CHAN Mo-po signed the Agreement on Amending the CEPA Service Trade Agreement in Hong Kong. The Agreement will take effect from the date of signing and will be officially implemented on June 1, 2020.

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam and Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Qiu Hong witnessed the signing.

The Agreement summarizes the latest opening up measures of Chinese Mainland in service trade since the signing of the CEPA Service Trade Agreement in 2015. Combined with the opening up demands of Hong Kong, it has further removed or reduced the entry barrier for Hong Kong service providers in financial, legal and construction fields, relaxed restrictions on service trade patterns such as the movement of physical persons and cross-border payment and delivery, and expanded the scope of mutual verification of talents in relevant professional fields, thus creating convenient conditions for Hong Kong people to do business in Chinese Mainland.

The Agreement will not only help consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international finance, trade and shipping center and develop new industries, but also bring new vitality to the development of the service industry in Chinese Mainland. The Agreement is of great significance to deepening economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between the two regions, supporting Hong Kong's economic development, improving people's livelihood and integrating into the overall national development.