One of Hong Kong's top financial officials is due to visit the UK this month, the first ministerial-level visit from an official from the city in over three years, according to the government.

The visit follows the 'Hello Hong Kong' promotion that got underway last month to attract visitors and investors back to the city following three years of strict Covid curbs that battered the economy.

Hong Kong's secretary for financial services and the treasury, Christopher Hui, will first visit Brussels from the 13th to 15th of April and then London from the 16th to 18th of April in a bid to promote the city's financial services and bolster ties with the UK and Belgium, Reuters news agency reports.

Hui will meet with financial and business leaders of both nations, as well as senior officials and European Commission officials, according to a government statement.

The purpose of the visit is to provide such officials with "the latest update on Hong Kong's financial services development, in particular in the fields of fintech and green finance," the statement went on to add.

Relations have been strained between Hong Kong and the UK since 2019's anti-government and pro-democratic protests.

Britain and other Western countries have stated the imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong in 2020 by Beijing weakened freedoms for civil society and the media, amongst other groups.

However, Hong Kong and Beijing authorities have rebuffed the claims.

Hong Kong returned to China in July 1997 under a "one country, two systems" rule that ensured widespread autonomy and freedoms not in place in mainland China, such as an independent judiciary, the Reuters report adds.

Following the new security law, in 2021, the UK launched a new visa scheme allowing around 3 million apply to apply for a British visa for five years, with an eventual path to citizenship. Yet the move was criticised by Beijing and Hong Kong's government.