Blog

Work together, go hand in hand for mutual benefits

Last week, I joined a delegation of the HKSAR government to attend the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. As one of the first special economic zones in the Mainland, Shenzhen has worked hard for 40 years with the support of national policies, and created unprecedented, brilliant achievements. Its GDP soared from RMB 270 million in 1980 to RMB 2.7 trillion (equivalent to more than HK$3 trillion) in 2019, while creating many well-known enterprises, and with urban development and environmental greening in the forefront. As a small, free and open economy, Hong Kong has faced numerous turbulent waves stemming from external developments. Yet it was equally impressive to see our GDP rising from some HK$140 billion in 1980 to nearly HK$2.9 trillion in 2019. Separated by a river, the development trajectories of the two places in the past 40 years have shown that the two cities have not only complementary advantages and in-depth cooperation, but also competition and mutual learning.

Shenzhen and Hong Kong have developed hand in hand from different starting points to their respective economic scales and styles of today. It would be overly simplistic to compare the two places in indicators such as GDP. However, in recent years, I have heard various worries about the future economic development of Hong Kong from time to time.

In fact, every city or economy has its own unique development trajectory and pattern, with its historical background and own development obstacles and bottlenecks. Perhaps the real question is whether Hong Kong has fully utilized our own advantages and potentials over the years. Facing the future, are we heading in the right direction? Have we conducted a review and summary of past developments and the gains and losses? Do we have a sufficient and correct understanding of our own advantages and existing problems? And also the determination and courage to walk to the end!

Looking back, along with the Mainland’s reform and opening up, Hong Kong has developed in the right direction. By grasping the changes and needs of the Mainland, seizing the opportunity, and transforming ourselves from a manufacturing base to a service economy, we fostered the rapid development in the 1980s and 1990s. Entering the 1990s, Hong Kong’s financial services and professional services thrived and emerged as important pillar industries in response to demand for financing and professional services arising from the development of Mainland enterprises. Yet, entering the 2000s, Hong Kong missed the opportunity in respect of development and application of innovation and technology. Although the HKSAR government has strived to catch up and devoted vast resources in recent years, it takes time to nurture talents, build up infrastructure and establish a complete ecosystem. The development of innovation and technology is so far not satisfactory. However, the key to whether we can finally make use of our advantages and catch up depends on whether we can adhere to our determination and commitment to the development of innovation and technology, and embrace the challenges with an attitude of daring to experiment and actively seeking new ideas!

The Mainland is the second largest economy in the world with a continuously growing middle class. The swift and effective containment of the COVID-19 epidemic has also allowed the economy to regain momentum. The huge Mainland market and its continued two-way opening up at a higher level will render huge opportunities to the recovery and growth of the Hong Kong economy.

As China-US relations remain tense and the international politico-economic landscapes are undergoing profound changes, some people may ask whether Hong Kong can still uphold its role as a gateway, intermediary and platform to and from the Mainland market? It is true that the international climate is changing, but the country’s adherence to reform and opening up has always been very stable, and the Central Government has determined to promote economic development with a new model featuring the dual domestic and international economic networks complementing each other. In the part of external circulation facing the international market, our institutional strengths of “one country, two systems” and other long-held advantages including the simple and low tax system, the free flows of capital and various factors of production, the rule of law, and judicial independence etc., allow Hong Kong to play a more critical and active role as a gateway, a hub and a high-quality platform.

In the face of sustained economic development in the Mainland, can Hong Kong maintain an edge in our competition with the various neighbouring cities? This is actually asking, is our development direction correct? Is the progress fast enough? Many people always compare Hong Kong with other cities from an "A Tale of Two Cities" perspective. However, what Hong Kong faces is not an "A Tale of Two Cities" competition, but a competition of "Hundred Horses". Cities all over the world are making every effort to develop, gathering more capital, talents, technology and cutting-edge research and other factors of production, so that their economies can flourish in multiple dimensions and at various levels.

Letting Hong Kong develop on the path to success is something we must do our utmost to promote. We may not be able to list all the industries that will win in the future, but we can lock in the right direction of development.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will provide a diverse, rapidly-developing and huge market. Both Hong Kong and our brother cities in the Bay Area can play an important role in promoting the all-round and flourishing development of the entire Bay Area. It can not only provide a more complete and broader development space for finance, innovation and technology, high-end service industries and advanced manufacturing, but also provide residents in the region with an environment that is liveable, business-friendly, travel-friendly, beautiful, and culturally rich.

Hong Kong’s past success was not only because we kept up with market development and needs, but also because Hong Kong people were not afraid of difficulties and had a practical attitude with flexibility. I still have full confidence in the future development of Hong Kong. As long as we chart the right course, keep pace with the times, and make forward-looking preparation, Hong Kong will definitely be able to write a brilliant chapter. To quote President Xi Jinping's speech at the celebration ceremony of 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone: “A single flower is not spring, but a garden is full of spring when a hundred flowers bloom.” As long as we work together, and continue to make good use of our uniqueness and advantages in the “beauty of a hundred flowers”, and also promote the co-development of brother cities in the region while seeking our own development, Hong Kong will remain a legendary city.

October 18, 2020