The remark came after he led a delegation of eight senior officials to visit eleven central ministries and agencies in Beijing after the closing ceremony of Two Sessions meeting last week.

Written in a local pro-establishment newspaper today, Lee said the visit reflected a "new page of process about the smooth and effective communication and cooperation" between the SAR government and central ministries and institutions.

"Every secretary for Departments and officials of the SAR government will build closer contact with the Central government to solve problems and strive for Hong Kong's prosperity and stability in the long term," he added.

Besides, Lee noted that the city must be a bridge between China and the world at "a high level" to "tell good Hong Kong stories" as various risks and challenges have increased significantly during the economic recovery after the pandemic.

He added that Hong Kong has seen a big step toward the further establishment of an international innovation and technology centre under the newly signed agreement about the issue between the SAR government and China's Science and Technology ministry during his visit to Beijing.