China's development in the 12th Five-Year Program period will bring new opportunities for Hong Kong, visiting Chinese vice premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday.

Li delivered a keynote speech Wednesday morning at a forum focusing on the 12th Five-Year Program (2011-2015) and financial and trade cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong.

According to Li, the 12th Five-Year Program takes accelerated transformation of the economic development pattern as the focus, gives high priority to people's well-being and stresses the need for continued reform and opening-up. With the mainland striving to achieve sustained, steady and fairly fast economic development, Hong Kong will be blessed with a more favorable environment and more opportunities for development.

Li said the mainland and Hong Kong have had a fruitful economic cooperation in the past. Hong Kong has played an irreplaceable role in China's reform, opening-up and modernization drive while the mainland has been providing firm and concrete support for Hong Kong's prosperity and stability.

The forum is co-sponsored by the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and the People's Bank of China.

The forum is chaired by Henry Tang Ying-yen, Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong. More than a thousand people participated in the forum.