HK, GD ties bolstered September 09, 2015 Chief Executive CY Leung and Guangdong Governor Zhu Xiaodan co-chaired the 18th Plenary of the Hong Kong-Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference at the Central Government Offices today. They witnessed the signing of five agreements after the meeting, on education, food safety, e-commerce, intellectual property rights and search and rescue work. Mr Leung noted that Guangdong’s free trade zone represents a new chapter in co-operation between Hong Kong and Guangdong, adding that he hopes Hong Kong enterprises in Guangdong make full use of its system and policies. He said both sides will continue to co-operate in youth development and education in the coming year, including optimising internship programmes, developing the sister-school exchange programme, and expanding the Mainland exchange programmes for students. Both sides will also continue to co-operate on the financial front, seeking the launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect and flexible management of cross-boundary renminbi loans.