On 1 July 1997, Hong Kong was reunited with the Motherland. In accordance with Article 22 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China, the HKSAR set up the Beijing Office on 4 March 1999 to further strengthen the tie and exchange between the SAR and the Central People's Government as well as other Mainland provinces and departments.
Following the SAR's establishment of economic and trade offices in Guangdong, Shanghai, Chengdu and Wuhan, the service area of the Beijing Office now covers 10 provinces/municipalities/autonomous regions in the northern, north-eastern and north-western region, i.e. Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu and Ningxia.
Since its establishment, the Beijing Office has been assuming the role as one of the important bridges between Hong Kong and the Mainland. We keep in close contact with the ministries of the Central People's Government as well as the governments and non-government organisations of the 10 provinces/municipalities/autonomous regions, and provide to them information relating to the HKSAR. On the other hand, we also report to the HKSAR Government the latest developments of the Mainland, and promote exchange and co-operation between Hong Kong and the Mainland in the areas of trade, investment and others such as art and culture.
With increasing contacts between the people of Hong Kong and the Mainland, the Beijing Office also organises different kinds of promotional activities to introduce Hong Kong and its latest developments to the people of the 10 provinces/municipalities/autonomous regions with a view to enhancing their knowledge and understanding of Hong Kong. In addition, the Beijing Office maintains close liaison with Hong Kong people and Hong Kong organisations on the Mainland, and provides practical assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress on the Mainland.
With a view to strengthening and deepening the liaison and co-operation with Liaoning Province and Tianjin Municipality, the HKSAR Government subsequently set up the Liaoning Liaison Unit and the Tianjin Liaison Unit under the Beijing Office in Shenyang and Tianjin in December 2014 and February 2017 respectively.