Senior government officials from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region reckon that the SAR should preserve its unique advantages so that it can assume more important functions in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Hong Kong should strengthen global offshore renminbi business, develop green finance, and unblock financing channels that can better serve the diversified financing needs of the Belt and Road construction.
Ding Xuexiang, Chinese Vice-Premier
They made their remarks at the 8th Belt and Road Summit, which began on Wednesday in Hong Kong and will run through Thursday. The event was jointly organized by the HKSAR government and Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and it marked the 10th anniversary of the BRI which was unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.
Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, in a pre-recorded opening keynote speech, expressed his four expectations for Hong Kong.
“The central government supports Hong Kong to maintain its unique status and advantages in the long-term; to consolidate its status as an international financial, shipping, and trade center; to maintain a free, open, and standardized business environment and the common law system; as well as to expand smooth and convenient international connections,” Ding said.
The vice-premier said he hopes that Hong Kong will deepen regional cooperation and expand its economic and trade network, sign free trade and investment agreements with more countries, and develop closer cooperation with other regions.
He emphasized that the central government supports Hong Kong to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which covers almost one-third of the world’s population - 2.2 billion people - and nearly 28 percent of global trade.
“Hong Kong should strengthen global offshore renminbi business, develop green finance, and unblock financing channels that can better serve the diversified financing needs of the Belt and Road construction,” Ding added.
He also said that Hong Kong can be a Chinese and Western cultural melting pot that can deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and hence people-to-people bonds.
The vice-premier noted that Hong Kong has achieved better and greater development through integrating into the overall national development and strengthening cooperation with Belt and Road countries in various fields.
“Hong Kong plays the role of participant, contributor and beneficiary in the BRI. The city is determined to embrace the vast promise of the Belt and Road, and the SAR is redoubling efforts to serve as the Belt and Road’s functional platform,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu pledged in his opening remarks.
The summit has attracted nearly 6,000 government officials, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and startups from some 70 countries and regions along the Belt and Road, together with more than 100 overseas and mainland delegations
The chief executive cited financing, professional services support, risk management, legal and dispute resolution services, architectural and infrastructure management, and innovation and technology offerings as Hong Kong’s areas of expertise.
The summit has attracted nearly 6,000 government officials, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and startups from some 70 countries and regions along the Belt and Road, together with more than 100 overseas and mainland delegations. The number of foreign ministers attending, and the number of memorandums of understanding (MoU) being exchanged and signed at this year’s summit, are all greater than at any previous Belt and Road Summit.
During the summit, the SAR government has exchanged two MoUs on water-quality management and environmental and meteorological monitoring with the Chinese mainland. The government also exchanged one MoU on environmental protection with Sri Lanka, as well as another MoU on fostering financial cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.
Zheng Yanxiong, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR, said: “Hong Kong must take advantage of its high degree of freedom and openness to promote more trade and investment between the mainland and Belt and Road countries.”
The director also said he hopes that Hong Kong would leverage its smooth connection with international rules to provide professional services such as finance, law, accounting, consulting, and management to build a bridge for the high-quality construction of the BRI.
The Belt and Road countries collectively account for 40 percent of the global gross domestic product and 45 percent of the world’s merchandise trade.
Source: China Daily [2023-09-13]
