Hong Kong should take a more proactive approach to removing barriers hindering the cross-border flow of people, capital, goods and data with neighbouring Shenzhen, analysts have said, as the new leadership of the mainland China tech hub signals a fresh push for deeper integration.

The calls for action followed the appointment of Jin Lei, an economist and former official in Sichuan province, as Shenzhen’s Communist Party chief last month, succeeding Meng Fanli, who has since been named the governor of Guangdong province.

Jin’s arrival coincides with Beijing’s push to accelerate Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis megaproject in the country’s 15th five-year plan, which guides development from 2026 to 2030. The Northern Metropolis scheme, first announced in 2021, aims to transform 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) of land along the border with Shenzhen into a dual engine for economic growth and housing.

Jin was born in the central province of Henan in 1970 and obtained a bachelor’s degree from Wuhan University’s political science department in 1992. He earned a master’s degree in economics from Xiamen University in 2002, according to the Shenzhen-based Securities Times.

In his first month in office, Jin conducted high-profile visits to major joint projects between the two cities, including the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, a key component of the metropolis.