Officials attend the plaque presentation ceremony of the State Key Laboratories in Hong Kong on August 25, 2025. Photo: Screenshot from media stories
China’s Ministry of Science and Technology has accredited 15 laboratories in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to be designated as National Key Laboratories (NKL), with the official plaque-awarding ceremony held on Monday, in accordance with the HKSAR authorities. The HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee mentioned the ceremony exhibits that these laboratories possess world-class capabilities in fundamental research, technological innovation and tackling important core applied sciences, highlighting Hong Kong’s sturdy research capacity.
Lee expressed confidence that the NKLs in Hong Kong will serve as necessary platforms to advertise collaboration with main universities and research establishments each domestically and internationally, appeal to prime research expertise from across the globe and assist Hong Kong’s improvement right into a hub for high-end worldwide expertise, in accordance with an announcement from the HKSAR authorities.
Zhou Ji, director of the Liaison Office of the central authorities in the HKSAR, mentioned on the ceremony that the central authorities has launched a collection of insurance policies to assist and profit Hong Kong in areas such as opening up science and know-how applications, facilitating cross-border funding, platform improvement, and the sharing of services and gear.
Cooperation in science and know-how between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland continued to deepen, yielding fruitful outcomes. The current reorganization of NKLs in Hong Kong as soon as once more demonstrates the central authorities’s sturdy assist for town’s scientific and technological improvement, Zhou famous.
Local skills can now take part in experiments and tasks on a nationwide scale. Hong Kong scientists and students can work along with a neighborhood of prime brains in the joint-experts research, Chu Kar-kin, a veteran commentator based mostly in the HKSAR and member of the Chinese (*15*) of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, informed the Global Times on Monday.
“Local universities too may engage in a wider platform, enjoy opportunities and offer contributions as a member of the national team,” Chu mentioned, noting that the association is one other effort to facilitate Hong Kong’s integration and collaboration with the motherland.
Hong Kong has the identical tempo in industry-orientation beneath the nation’s fifteenth Five-Year Plan interval (2026-30), and the institution of these NKLs can be a milestone to the development of technological betterment and creativity nationwide, the skilled mentioned.
Of the 15 NKLs established in Hong Kong, 5 are affiliated with the University of Hong Kong, 4 with the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), two with City University of Hong Kong, two with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), one with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), and one collectively with PolyU and HKUST, in accordance with native media stories.
The labs cowl areas such as infectious illnesses, neurological problems, biomedical know-how and optical quantum supplies. Their administrators embrace HKUST President Nancy Ip, HKU President Xiang Zhang and infectious illness skilled Yuen Kwok-yung, amongst others.
At the CUHK, the newly established laboratory for quantum know-how spans a number of cutting-edge fields, together with quantum sensing and precision measurement, nano-photonics and built-in photonics and quantum supplies and quantum info concept, in accordance with the college.