HONG KONG - Visiting Chinese vice premier Li Keqiang delivered a keynote speech here Wednesday morning at a forum focusing on the 12th Five-Year Program (2011-2015) and financial and trade cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong.

"It is in Hong Kong's need and China's need that Hong Kong continues to bring out the unique advantages it has developed over the years and play its irreplaceable role in the mainland's reform, opening-up and modernization drive", Li said in his speech titled "Set up Cooperation for Development and Prosperity".

According to Li, as an international free port city and a major financial, trade and shipping center, Hong Kong is one of the world's most open, vibrant and competitive economies. These advantages will show their value as China develops during the 12th Five-Year Program period. As long as these unique advantages are solidified and Hong Kong's role is brought into full play, Hong Kong will surely achieve greater development.

For the first time, China's 12th Five-Year Program contains a separate chapter on the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao. In this regard, Li said the part related to Hong Kong spells out in clear terms the policies of the Central Government to support Hong Kong's development and promote the cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong. With the mainland striving to achieve sustained, steady and fairly fast economic development, Hong Kong will be blessed with a more favorable environment and more opportunities for development.

The mainland and Hong Kong have had a fruitful economic cooperation in the past. Hong Kong has played an irreplaceable role in China's reform, opening-up and modernization drive while the mainland has been providing firm and concrete support for Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, said Li.

Donald Tsang Yan-kuen, Chief Executive of the Kong Hong Special Administrative Region, gave a welcome speech at the beginning of the forum.

According to Tsang, Hong Kong has been providing fund, technology, experience and talented people to the nation's modernization drive in the past years. Hong Kong not only becomes the financing platform of the mainland, but also acts as the gate of mainland enterprises to "go global".

In terms of the 12th Five-Year program, Tsang said the separate chapter on Hong Kong elaborates its functional position in China's strategic development and points out the direction of cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong during this period. Such explanation coincides with Hong Kong's current circumstances and the need of future development.

Minister of the National Development and Reform commission Zhang Ping, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming, China's Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah also gave speeches and answered questions at the forum.

The forum is co-sponsored by the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and the People's Bank of China. More than a thousand people participated in the forum.