Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has launched the city's first five-year development plan, outlining broad ambitions to strengthen its status as a global financial centre and deepen economic integration with mainland China. The plan covers areas including housing, technology, trade, and education, with a particular focus on accelerating the Northern Metropolis — a large planned urban zone near the mainland border designed to house 2.5 million people and generate some 650,000 jobs. The strategy also aims to expand Hong Kong's role as an offshore renminbi hub and a centre for international legal services, positioning the city as a "super connector" within China's Greater Bay Area (a cluster of cities in southern China that Beijing is integrating into a single economic zone).