Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived here Friday at the start of three days of celebrations marking Hong Kong's first decade after returning to Chinese rule. The Chinese leader will have an informal dinner with Chief Executive Donald Tsang on Friday before a packed weekend of events to mark the 10th anniversary of the handover on July 1.
It is only the fourth visit by a Chinese president since the 1997 handover brought down the curtain on 155 years of British rule over Hong Kong. The Chinese president hailed the "outstanding achievements" of the past 10 years and said he was optimistic about Hong Kong's future.
"In the past 10 years under the 'one country, two systems' principles Hong Kong people ruled Hong Kong and Hong Kong enjoyed a high degree of autonomy," he told reporters on his arrival on the tarmac at the airport.
"The central government and Chinese citizens have supported the Hong Kong government and helped Hong Kong to overcome all difficulties," he said before being escorted to his hotel in the city's downtown. Security was tight around his hotel with police vans lining up the streets and officers guarding the surrounding area.
Earlier, China signed a new free trade pact with Hong Kong, further opening mainland markets to the former British colony. On Friday afternoon, Hu met with young Hong Kong athletes, played ping-pong with a 13-year-old boy and visited two local families. He also met with Tsang later Friday.
Hong Kong's chief executive is hand-picked by Beijing and only half the territory's legislators are directly elected. Hu will miss a planned pro-democracy march on Sunday afternoon as he will return to Beijing before it begins. On July 1, Hu will preside over the swearing-in of Tsang and his new cabinet after the ceremonial raising of the Chinese flag.
Sunday's celebrations will be in contrast to those 10 years ago, when Hong Kong's former colonial governor Chris Patten fought back tears as the British flag was lowered for the last time, in the presence of Prince Charles and Britain's then prime minister Tony Blair.
No foreign dignitaries have been invited to attend the carefully choreographed timetable of events, which include the formal presentation by Hu of two pandas, a gift to Hong Kong from the mainland.
Instead, the events will celebrate Hong Kong's closer ties with the mainland, including the symbolic opening Sunday of a new bridge linking Hong Kong with the booming southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.