The Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have signed a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a permanent coordination platform for judicial and legal cooperation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in Beijing on June 13. 

Deng Xiuming, vice-president of the SPC, and Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan, the HKSAR's deputy secretary for justice, attended the signing ceremony. 

During a meeting with Cheung and his delegation prior to the signing ceremony, Deng said that since the implementation of the national strategy for the GBA, the SPC has been consistently adhering to the comprehensive, accurate and unwavering implementation of the policy of "one country, two systems", as well as the decisions of central authorities. 

The SPC has been driving the synergy of judicial and legal rules and mechanisms in the GBA through exchanges and cooperation, as well as supporting Hong Kong in establishing itself as a center for international legal services and dispute resolution in the Asia-Pacific region, Deng added. 

Deng emphasized that the establishment of the platform is a practical measure to support the GBA’s development as well as the HKSAR chief executive's governance. This move is conducive to harnessing the rule of law in the GBA’s development and holds significant and far-reaching implications for Hong Kong, allowing it to better align with national strategies and further integrate into the overall development of the country, he said. 

Cheung said that the permanent coordination platform will facilitate mutual advancement in judicial and legal practices and research in the GBA. 

It will better leverage the unique advantages of the area, consolidate Hong Kong's position as a center for international legal services and dispute resolution in the Asia-Pacific region, and serve the high-quality development of the country, he said.