The Chinese mainland will unveil new measures to expand market access for service businesses and professionals from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Thursday.
Preliminary consensus in this regard had been reached following consultations among the commerce ministry, relevant departments and the HKSAR government on the revision of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), according to an earlier statement issued by the ministry.
"New opening-up measures will be introduced in professional service areas where Hong Kong has a strong presence and which are of great interest to the industry, such as law, finance, construction and related engineering and audio-visual services, to further facilitate the development of Hong Kong enterprises and professionals in the mainland," said the MOC spokesman He Yadong.
He made the remarks in response to a question about the revision of the agreement between the mainland and Hong Kong to further liberalize and enhance cooperation in services trade.
Signed between the mainland and Hong Kong in 2003, the CEPA has significantly facilitated trade liberalization in both goods and services.
Of the 160 services trade sectors classified by the World Trade Organization, the mainland has so far opened up 153 to Hong Kong, according to the spokesman.
Hong Kong service providers to get easier access to mainland market
Commemorative events were held across China on Sunday, the 87th anniversary of the July 7 Incident, to mourn fallen heroes and war victims.
On July 7, 1937, Japanese soldiers attacked Chinese forces at the Lugou Bridge, which marked the start of Japan's full-scale invasion of China, and China's whole-nation resistance against the Japanese invaders.
At the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing City of east China's Jiangsu Province, representatives from all walks of life, offered floral tributes to pay their respects to those who laid down their lives in fighting the Japanese aggression.
Meanwhile, a commemorative event was held at the former site of the New Fourth Army, the early communist troops, in east China's Nanchang, a city famous for an uprising that led to the establishment of the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army.
Attendees laid flower baskets and bowed to pay tribute to the victims and fallen compatriots and to pray for peace.
In Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province and Handan, north China's Hebei Province, locals sounded sirens and observed silence to mark the day.
In addition, people spontaneously visited exhibitions at the September 18th Historical Museum in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province, the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army in northeast China's Harbin City, and the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army Memorial Hall in Tonghua, Jilin Province respectively to learn about the bravery and sacrifice of the martyrs fighting in the battles against the Japanese invaders.
In Tianchang City, east China's Anhui Province, young members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) visited the Memorial Hall of the Eighth Branch of the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, renewing their pledge to the Party and paying their respects to the martyrs.
In the exhibition hall showcasing Japanese invaders' germ warfare, students in Quzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, learned the atrocities committed by the Japanese imperial army through vivid presentations and exhibits from the war.
Meanwhile, exhibits at the Pingxingguan Battle Memorial Hall in Datong City, north China's Shanxi Province, are also good evidence of Chinese people's heroic fight against the Japanese invaders.
"I have gained a deeper insight into the courage and resilience displayed by our revolutionary predecessors during the resistance against the Japanese invaders. Their actions greatly inspired the confidence of the entire nation in the fight against the Japanese aggressors. As a Party member, I have further strengthened my unwavering commitment to sacrificing everything for the interests of the Party and the people," said Yu Haozheng, a student from the Nankai University.
Chinese armed forces also held various activities in honor of the martyrs and heroes who fought and died in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.
"As soldiers in the new era, we should carry forward the legacy of our revolutionary predecessors. We should put all our minds and energy on remaining combat-ready at all times and contributing to making the People's Liberation Army (PLA) stronger when we mark the centenary of its founding," said Luo Yuhao, a service member with the 72nd Group Army of the PLA.
Commemorative activities held across China to remember resistance war against Japanese aggression
