CE Praised By Premier Li Keqiang During Duty Visit

Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday said the central government is fully affirmative of the work of Chief Executive Carrie Lam and her government over the past year, praising their effective governance and ability to revive the economy.

Li was speaking to the CE at Zhongnanhai during her annual duty visit to the capital.

During the brief moments of the session that were open to the press, Li said he hopes Hong Kong can directly connect to the country's strategic development under its new development model, as the central government supports the SAR as an international financial, trade and aviation hub.

"I hope the SAR government can continue to guard against and control the pandemic, facilitate economic revival and focus on improving people's livelihoods, allowing the general public to have an even greater sense of gain," the premier told Lam.

He praised the CE for perfecting relevant systems in accordance with the constitution and the Basic Law.

Li also stressed that Beijing will continue to fully implement the principles of One Country, Two Systems and Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy.

The chief executive, for her part, said she was grateful for Li's affirmation.

She added that she was glad to be able to see the premier in person, noting that she could only deliver her work report via video link earlier this year, because of the pandemic.

A number of senior mainland officials were also present during the chief executive's final duty visit of this term, including Vice Premier Han Zheng, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Public Security Minister Zhao Kezhi.