Hong Kong will reopen its borders with mainland China by mid-January, city Chief Executive John Lee said on Saturday, as Beijing accelerates the unwinding of stringent COVID-19 rules that have battered economic growth.
Lee, speaking at a press event at the airport in Hong Kong as he returned from a trip to Beijing, said the goal in "gradually, orderly, and fully" reopening the city will be to return the border to its state before the virus outbreak.
"Our goal is to quickly come to a consensus with the central government, submit our plan to the central government for review and execute on the plan before mid-January," said Lee.