Blog

Promoting cooperation for peace and inclusive development

Global leaders gathered in Asia in the past week, and attended the G20 Leaders Summit held in Indonesia as well as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in Thailand. The focus was on the meetings among heads of states and governments, as well as subjects deliberated that were of common international concern. They included the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, threat to the economic momentum stemming from high inflation and sharp interest rate hikes, as well as the pressing issue of how to revitalise the economy and drive recovery.

The theme of this year’s G20 Summit is “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”. President Xi Jinping pointed out at the meeting that the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, acute weaknesses of the world economy, rising geopolitical tensions, deficient global governance as well as food and energy crises are compounded with one another. Faced with these substantial and pressing challenges, it is imperative that countries embrace the vision of a human community with a shared future. Whether it comes to stabilising the economy or dealing with climate change, countries around the world need to be united and work together. A peaceful and stable international environment is a prerequisite for global development; prosperity and stability cannot materialise in a world where the rich get richer and the poor poorer. At a time when the world is undergoing rapid changes unseen in a century, the world needs more inclusive and resilient development from which people can benefit.

In his speech at the G20 Summit, President Xi reiterated the “Global Development Initiative”, which won recognition by many attending leaders. President Xi first put forward the Initiative in his important speech to the United Nations General Assembly last year; it was also included in the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last month. The Initiative emphasises that development is the key to people’s well-being, and we should work together to steer global development towards a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth. The core concept includes staying committed to development as a priority to foster global development partnerships that are more equitable and balanced; staying committed to a people-centered approach to safeguard and improve people’s livelihoods through development; staying committed to benefits for all with emphasis on addressing unbalanced and inadequate development among and within countries; staying committed to innovation-driven development to seize the historic opportunities created by the latest round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, foster an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for the development of science and technology, and foster new growth drivers in the post-COVID era and jointly achieve leapfrog development; staying committed to harmony between human and nature, accelerating the transition to a green and low-carbon economy and achieving green recovery and development. Since the Initiative was proposed a year ago, it has received support from more than 100 countries and international organisations, and more than 60 countries have participated in the “Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative”.

In the past three years, the global economy has been hit hard by the pandemic, which has taken a toll on the international community’s progress in poverty reduction over the past years. The serious supply chain disruptions have also exacerbated food shortage, and the weak global economy is in dire need of support in order to recover. In fact, the Global Development Initiative put forward by our country rightly addresses the practical needs and long-term goals of world development. It also compliments the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Our country has also proposed specific and feasible projects whereby developed countries, developing countries and countries of smaller economic scale can fully share the benefits. This is beneficial to individual countries, while at the same time promotes equitable development on the whole and allows people around the world to share the fruits of economic development. Starting from the standpoint of well-being of humankind, the Initiative has established a platform for international cooperation and dialogue on relevant issues, thereby demonstrating the willingness to shoulder international obligations by a great country. Where strong unilateralism and protectionism now prevail in the international community, this is not easy. Our country has demonstrated the courage and responsibility to move forward firmly, and is striving to promote international cooperation and more balanced partnerships for more sustainable and inclusive development.

When I participated in the G20 Summit in Indonesia last week as a member of the Chinese delegation, I felt that many representatives of the participating countries truly supported the Initiative, which ultimately seeks to promote global development and shared achievements. More inclusive development has strong political and moral appeal in the international community, and it is bound to gradually gather more support to facilitate implementation of the Initiative.

During the Summit, I also took the opportunity to exchange views with government delegates from different regions as well as business leaders and representatives of enterprises. We discussed the strengthening of economic and trade co-operation, and I also encouraged foreign enterprises to make better use of Hong Kong’s platform as an international financial and business centre to raise funds and expand businesses. For instance, Indonesia has actively been promoting infrastructure development in recent years, and the country is in need of a large amount of capital to support its projects. Hong Kong is an international financial centre and an economic and trade hub in Asia; we are familiar with the Asian markets, economies and culture, and possess an extensive network and the unique advantage of serving both international and Mainland investors. With a deep and wide pool of capital as well as a broad investor base, Hong Kong is an ideal platform for the Indonesian government and enterprises to raise funds. At the same time, Indonesia can take advantage of Hong Kong’s world-class professional services to advance its development.

The political and business community in Indonesia is also keen on advancing green and sustainable development in tandem with economic development and improving people's living standards. Hong Kong saw vibrant development in green and sustainable finance in recent years; for governments and enterprises which are pursuing green transformation, we provide a financing platform for them to connect with global investors. In addition to financing greenfield projects, we are also actively rolling out initiatives to channel capital to high-quality brownfield projects. This provides a good point of cooperation for Hong Kong and Indonesia. The total amount of international green and sustainable debt arranged or issued in Hong Kong last year was over US$56 billion, quadrupled from a year ago. The Indonesian business community is indeed very interested in the relevant developments and services in Hong Kong. The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), the largest industry and business organisation in Indonesia, is actively preparing for a high-level delegation to visit Hong Kong next year to explore opportunities for further co-operation and development. Meanwhile, I have also invited some Indonesian friends whom I met to attend the Asian Financial Forum to be held in Hong Kong in January next year.

Some has said that the 21st century is the Asian Century. In particular, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for one-third of the world's population, over 60% of the world's economy and nearly half of the world’s trade volume, and it is the region with the greatest economic growth momentum. At a time when global development is undergoing turmoil, and geopolitical tensions are intertwined with changes in economic structures, the Asia-Pacific region needs to work even closer to build a stable and smooth supply chain, as well as to strengthen economic and trade cooperation in the region. Given this broader perspective, Hong Kong is well-placed to play its role as a "super-connector", a platform for pooling capital and talent, and a provider of high value-added services, sharing the future prosperity and development with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other Asian countries. Indeed, ASEAN is already our second largest trading partner. We will step up our efforts to promote economic and trade cooperation in the future, including our bid to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) as soon as possible, so as to further integrate into the regional industrial value chain and consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international trade centre.

As Hong Kong gradually regains its international connections, we will be taking the opportunity to visit more places around the world to tell the good stories of Hong Kong and proactively seek opportunities for cooperation, investment and development. We will bear in mind the spirit of mutual cooperation for development and extend our efforts under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, so as to make valuable contributions to more sustainable and inclusive word development, and to building a human community with a shared future.

November 20, 2022