On 11 May 2026, the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Sweden, together with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, co-hosted a dinner reception at Grand Hôtel Stockholm in honour of the visit to Sweden by Professor Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the Hong Kong SAR Government.
The reception formed part of Professor Sun’s two-day innovation visit to Sweden on 11-12 May 2026, bringing together representatives from business, academia, government-related organisations, research institutions and the broader innovation community.
The evening highlighted the growing interest in strengthening collaboration between Hong Kong and Sweden in innovation, technology, life sciences, digitalisation, industrial transformation, investment and international market development.
Opening remarks by HKCCSE
In his opening remarks, Dr Eric Zhang, Chair of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Sweden, welcomed Professor Sun Dong, the Hong Kong delegation and distinguished guests from Sweden and Hong Kong.
Dr Zhang noted that the evening reflected the importance of trusted international collaboration in innovation, technology and industrial transformation. He highlighted Sweden’s strengths in engineering excellence, sustainability, life sciences and deep industrial knowledge, while emphasising Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area’s role as a dynamic hub for connectivity, capital, industrial scale and speed of execution.
He further underlined that the relationship between Sweden and Hong Kong should be seen not as competition, but as complementarity. Drawing on his own professional journey across Europe and Asia in innovation and venture building, Dr Zhang noted that some of the strongest breakthroughs happen when different ecosystems connect – combining what he described as “Nordic depth with Asian speed.”
Dr Zhang also reaffirmed the Chamber’s commitment to building long-term bridges between research and industry, innovation and commercialisation, and between Sweden, Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.
Keynote remarks by Professor Sun Dong
In his keynote remarks, Professor Sun Dong emphasised that both Hong Kong and Sweden are open economies with a global outlook, sharing a strong commitment to people, education and scientific excellence. He noted that both economies are well positioned to respond to major global trends, including artificial intelligence, digitalisation and the reshaping of global supply chains.
Professor Sun presented Hong Kong’s vision to develop into an international innovation and technology centre. He highlighted Hong Kong’s strategic focus areas, including life and health technologies, AI and robotics, advanced manufacturing and new energy, as set out in Hong Kong’s Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint.
He also introduced Hong Kong’s growing innovation infrastructure, including major innovation and technology parks, key research and development institutions, and the development of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone. Professor Sun described this as a platform combining Hong Kong’s R&D capabilities and international openness with Shenzhen’s industrial depth and manufacturing power.
Life and health technology was also a key theme. Professor Sun referred to Hong Kong’s plans to establish the Life and Health Technology Research Institute, with a headquarters at the Hong Kong Park and branches led by local universities. He noted that this would help create a stronger health-tech ecosystem by linking Hong Kong’s research strengths with application scenarios and market opportunities in the Greater Bay Area.
Professor Sun further highlighted Hong Kong’s AI strategy, digital infrastructure development and investment initiatives, including the planned HK$10 billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund to encourage market capital to invest in strategic industries. He also welcomed international collaboration, including with Sweden, in areas such as joint labs, researcher exchanges and AI governance.
In closing, Professor Sun described Hong Kong as a “super connector” and “super value-adder” for global talent and ideas, and expressed confidence that the ties between Hong Kong and Sweden would continue to deepen.
Concluding reflections by Pia Sandvik
The evening concluded with reflections by Pia Sandvik, CEO of Teknikföretagen – Technology Industries of Sweden.
Ms Sandvik underlined the potential of collaboration between Hong Kong and Sweden, especially at a time when innovation, technology and industrial transformation require stronger international partnerships. She noted that Sweden and Hong Kong bring different but highly complementary strengths, and that continued dialogue can help create new opportunities for companies, research institutions and innovation ecosystems on both sides.
She also expressed her appreciation for the visit and looked forward to continued dialogue and deeper cooperation between the Swedish and Hong Kong innovation and business communities.
Strengthening long-term collaboration
The dinner reception demonstrated the strong interest in building closer ties between Hong Kong and Sweden. It also reflected the Chamber’s role as a platform for connecting business, academia, investors, public-sector stakeholders and innovation ecosystems across the two regions.
The Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Sweden would like to extend its sincere appreciation to Professor Sun Dong and the Hong Kong delegation, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, Pia Sandvik, and all distinguished guests and partners who contributed to a successful and meaningful evening.
The Chamber looks forward to continuing the dialogue and supporting future collaboration between Hong Kong and Sweden in innovation, technology, investment and international business.
