"The current mainland-Taiwan ratio of labor cost is 1:2.5, while in the past it was 1:12 or even higher," he said.

"Favorable policies, the same language and similar customs - all this add to the investment appeal here, compared with cheaper labor costs in some Southeast Asian countries."

At the news conference, Wen also said Hong Kong is capable of dealing with both regional and international competition and risks, saying its advantage as an international financial center has not changed.

He stressed that the central government's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) will in no way replace Hong Kong's own plan.

A chapter about Hong Kong and Macao in the five-year plan was intended to support their development, not to be imposed on them, he said.

It was the first time the central government had mapped out an independent chapter about the two special administrative regions in its five-year blueprint.

Yuen Mo, chief of Hong Kong's delegation to the National People's Congress, said government bodies in Hong Kong usually made plans for the following few years separately and without sufficient coordination.

"An integrated plan for Hong Kong's overall development was absent in the past, since these departments were only busy with their own jobs. The five-year blueprint, which maps out the city's long-term development, is crucial to its prosperity in the long run," Yuen said.