Han met Merlin Swire, chief executive of John Swire & Sons, who was in Beijing for the China Development Forum, on Monday.
โThe Swire Group is a world-famous multinational company that has achieved great development in both mainland China and Hong Kong,โ Han said, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
โ[I] hope the Swire Group can actively participate in the development of the Greater Bay Area as well as the Hainan Free Trade Port.โ
The bay area blueprint calls for turning Hong Kong, Macau and nine Guangdong provincial cities into a new economic powerhouse, while the Hainan plan is an initiative to turn the island into a world-class free-trade hub with a separate customs entity by the end of this year.
During the meeting with Swire, Han acknowledged the current complex global situation but stressed that Chinaโs support for economic globalisation and its efforts in carrying out reforms and opening-up would bring more stability to the world.