On Sept 4, Li Li, commissioner of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), met in Beijing with a delegation from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) led by Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau, Director of Health Ronald Lam and Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority Libby Lee Ha-yun.

The two sides reviewed the cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong in drug regulation and had in-depth exchanges on further supporting Hong Kong's efforts in this field.

Li said that the NMPA will fully implement the decisions and plans of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council and further implement the agreements including the Cooperation Agreement on Pharmaceutical Regulation signed between the two sides last year, so as to continuously deepen collaboration between the mainland and Hong Kong in this field.

The NMPA will continue to provide talent and technical support for Hong Kong's drug regulation, assisting Hong Kong's active participation in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and better integration into overall national development, he added.

Lo thanked the NMPA for its long-term support for Hong Kong's drug regulation and updated the NMPA on Hong Kong's progress in formulating the Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint and in building Hong Kong into an international hub for medical innovation.

He also expressed the hope to further deepen exchanges and cooperation with the mainland in areas such as the inheritance, innovation and development of traditional Chinese medicine as well as drug review and evaluation.

NMPA deputy commissioners Xu Jinghe and Yang Sheng also attended the meeting.

Officials from relevant departments and affiliated institutions of the NMPA were also present.