HONG KONG, July 1 -- John Lee, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), on Monday welcomed the substantial conclusion of the consultations between China's Ministry of Commerce and the HKSAR government for further liberalization of trade in services under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA).

The Ministry of Commerce announced Monday that an agreement was reached following consultations among the ministry, relevant departments and the HKSAR government under the CEPA, with amendments to further enhance and deepen the mainland's level of liberalization of trade in services with Hong Kong.

Lee said he is looking forward to finalizing the text for the new agreement as soon as possible by the two sides and formally signing and implementing the agreement after the completion of respective internal approval procedures.

"I am very grateful to the central government for its strong support to the HKSAR," he said, adding that CEPA has reinforced Hong Kong's role as a bridge connecting the mainland and the rest of the world and enhanced Hong Kong's competitiveness.

The new amendments will further deepen economic and trade cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong, and provide vast business opportunities, he said.

The Chinese mainland and the HKSAR signed the agreement on trade in services under the CEPA framework in November 2015 to basically achieve the liberalization of trade in services. Subsequently, the two sides signed in November 2019 the agreement concerning amendment to the CEPA agreement on trade in services to further liberalize the mainland's trade in services with Hong Kong.

Under the current framework of the CEPA agreement on trade in services, the mainland fully or partially opens up 153 service sectors to Hong Kong's service industry, enabling Hong Kong enterprises and professionals to enjoy preferential treatment in developing their business in the mainland.