Blog

Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2017

A gist of the blog:

Last week I attended the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2017 together with the Chief Executive and a number of government colleagues. This is the first time I participated in the Forum and it was also my first duty visit as Financial Secretary.

The theme of this year’s Forum is “Globalization and Free Trade - the Asian Perspectives". The Chief Executive was invited to be the keynote speaker for a sub-forum under the topic “Globalization & Free Trade: The Hong Kong Experiences and Perspective”. I was also invited to join this sub-forum as one of the guest speakers of the discussion session.

As a founding member of the WTO, Hong Kong has been a staunch supporter of a free, open and multilateral trading system. In recent years, there are signs of rising protectionist and anti-globalization sentiments around the world. Some individual economies have advocated or even implemented trade protection measures, and the global economy is facing complex and unpredictable challenges. Amid the uncertainties in the macro-environment, it is particularly important for Hong Kong, a small and open economy lacking natural resources and focusing on services industry, to continue to uphold the principle of free trade. At the same time, we are also aware that it has become a major trend for economies to enter into Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Hong Kong should also be more flexible and proactive in protecting and promoting our benefits through signing bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with trade partners.

March 26, 2017