Central Coordination Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs

Central Coordination Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs
中央港澳工作协调小组

Formation	August 1978
Type	Policy coordination and consultation body
Location	Beijing
Leader	Zhang Dejiang
Deputy Leaders	Li Yuanchao Yang Jiechi
Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Chief	Wang Guangya
Parent organisation	Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Subsidiaries	Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office

The Central Coordination Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs (Chinese: 中央港澳工作协调小组; pinyin: Zhōngyāng Gǎng Ao Gōngzuò Xiétiáo Xiǎozǔ) is an internal policy coordination group of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People's Republic of China, reporting to the Politburo, in charge of supervising and coordinating Beijing's policy towards the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The Group is the highest de facto body for China's policy towards Hong Kong and Macau.

The Group was established on 17 August, 1978, though an informal Hong Kong-Macau affairs group had formed much earlier.^[1] Its founding memo described the group's aim as "seek truth from facts, approach things appropriately according to the situation, do not assume what works in the mainland will work elsewhere, be flexible."

Since 2003, in order to deal with increasingly serious July 1 marches in Hong Kong, then Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) member and Vice President Zeng Qinghong became leader of the group in 2003, and China's policy towards the SARs undertook significant reforms. Most notably, the group enacted the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, preferential trade agreements, and the Individual Visit Scheme, which allowed mainlanders to visit Hong Kong and Macau on an individual basis without having to apply for group visas or go through officially approved tour groups. Since 2003, the group has always been led by a member of the PSC.

The General Office for the group is also known as the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.

List of Leaders

1. Zeng Qinghong (2003-2007)
2. Xi Jinping (2007-2012)
3. Zhang Dejiang (2012-present)

Current composition

• Leader
  • Zhang Dejiang, Politburo Standing Committee, Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee
• Deputy Leaders
  • Li Yuanchao, Politburo, Vice President of the People's Republic of China
  • Yang Jiechi, State Councilor in charge of foreign affairs
• Chief of General Office
  • Wang Guangya, head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
• Members
  • Wang Guangya
  • Zhang Xiaoming, Director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office
  • Bai Zhijian, Director of the Macau Liaison Office

References

1. "1978年8月12日 中央决定成立港澳小组". People's Daily.