Hong Kong's sole deputy to the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), Starry Lee, said local businesses should familiarise themselves with the newly revised Foreign Trade Law.
The revision was adopted by the country's top legislature on Saturday (Dec. 28) and will take effect on March 1.
It includes provisions to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and emphasises that foreign trade should serve national economic and social development.
The revision also adds provisions on advancing China's efforts to actively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and to participate in the formulation of international economic and trade regulations.
Speaking to reporters in Hong Kong a day after the NPCSC session concluded in Beijing, Lee said studying the law would benefit local firms.
"Hong Kong is a special administrative region. We have our own political system. Laws passed in this section will not directly apply to Hong Kong. But as I've mentioned, because a lot of Hong Kong people do business in different parts of China, and we also have a lot of Hong Kong enterprises entering different cities to do business, therefore [studying these laws] can help raise their awareness," she said.
Lee added that her DAB party has sent letters to various organisations to collect views for the upcoming "Two Sessions" meetings in March.
The annual NPC is set to open on March 5, a day after the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference begins.
On whether Lee would become the new Legco president, she said being an NPCSC member and the head of the local legislature does not pose any conflict, as Hong Kong and national interests align with each other.
But she stopped short of indicating whether she will run, simply saying that "things would become clearer" after lawmakers-elect take their oaths on January 1 and nominations open later.
(Source: RTHK)
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