Blog

China: 40 years of reform and opening-up (II)

A gist of the blog:

China is now the second largest economy in the world. The Mainland’s economy is undergoing transformation from “high-speed” growth to “high-quality” growth, and will continue to deepen its supply-side structural reform to promote long-term economic development. In this context, how should Hong Kong utilise our own competitive advantages to complement our country’s development needs, and at the same time to expand our capacity for further development? I believe there are three areas that we should focus on, namely the “Belt and Road” initiative, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area development, as well as turning innovation and technology as the engine our economy.

The ratio of Hong Kong’s GDP to that of the Mainland has shrunk from 20% in early 1990s to less than 3% in recent years. Some may regard that Hong Kong is now less relevant to the Mainland economy. But looking from a different angle, it is only natural that the ratio has decreased given that Hong Kong is a small economy with a population of 7 million, while China is a fast growing economic power with 1.4 billion people. This also reflects the rising economic status and prosperity of our country. I firmly believe that as long as Hong Kong maintains its “flexibility”, we can continue to play a unique role in contributing to China’s continued economic transformation and in seizing the opportunities ahead arising from further advancement of our country.

January 21, 2018