Push for digital integration has already yielded practical results, Hong Kong official says
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenOscar LiuPublished: 8:25pm, 12 Apr 2026Hong Kong and Shanghai have taken a significant step in the digital integration of the two financial hubs by linking authentication systems, while five mainland Chinese enterprises have established operations in the city, officials have said.
Both sides highlighted the progress on Sunday during the first annual meeting of the Working Group on Shanghai and Hong Kong Digital Cooperation. They gathered in Hong Kong to review a deepening partnership over the past year aimed at tackling technical boundaries and easing cross-boundary data flow.
Co-chaired by Hong Kong’s acting commissioner for digital policy, Daniel Cheung Yee-wai, and Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Data deputy director Qin Xiao, the meeting focused on six strategic pillars.
These included the mutual authentication of digital identities, the development of cross-boundary public services and deeper cooperation in digital infrastructure and talent cultivation.
The working group’s discussions aimed to build on a memorandum of understanding between Shanghai and Hong Kong on digital economy cooperation signed last April, seeking to reduce friction for businesses and residents operating across both jurisdictions.
Cheung said the push for integration had already yielded practical results, pointing to the successful linkage between Hong Kong’s “IAM Smart” platform and Shanghai’s Government Online-Offline Shanghai website and its Suishenban app.
