Hong Kong has 'risen from the ashes', China's Xi Jinping says on rare visit

Hong Kong has overcome its challenges and “risen from the ashes”, China’s President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, as he arrived in the former British colony to celebrate 25 years since its return to Chinese rule.

Xi will swear in the global financial hub’s new leader, John Lee, on Friday during his first visit to the city since 2017, which is also his first known trip outside the mainland in more than two years, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wearing masks, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, stepped off a high-speed train to be greeted by children waving flowers and Chinese and Hong Kong flags and chanting “Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome” in Mandarin.

“Hong Kong has withstood severe tests again and again, overcoming challenges one by one,” Xi said during a brief speech. “After the wind and rain, Hong Kong has risen from the ashes.”

Authorities organised a lion dance celebration while a police band played. Security was tight at the train station with police making stop-and-search checks, assisted by sniffer dogs.

Outgoing city leader Carrie Lam and her husband were among those who welcomed Xi at the station, which has not been used for two years because of Covid restrictions.

• Asia stocks mixed after Wall St down, China manufacturing up