China’s No 3 official has urged Hong Kong to be “innovative” when solving governance and development issues, as well as telling local delegates to “take the lead” in opposing harmful acts against the “one country, two systems” principle.

Zhao Leji, the third-highest ranking member of the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, on Tuesday told Hong Kong delegates to the National People’s Congress (NPC) that the city should use its strengths and make “new contributions” to the country’s development over a critical period spanning the next five years.

Recalling the meeting, Hong Kong delegation head Ma Fung-kwok said: “He hoped for us to uphold the fundamental principle of one country, two systems accurately, and be innovative in tackling many governing and development issues.