The third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee has not only set the direction for China’s national development and modernization in the coming years, but also provided general guidelines on how the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region should further its own development by playing a significant role in the process of the country’s modernization.
In elaborating on the resolution adopted at the third plenary session when meeting a delegation led by Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po in Beijing last week, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, said that reform and opening-up has been a winning strategy for China to modernize itself by advancing with the times, and that reform is also necessary for the HKSAR to pursue further development in the wake of drastic changes in both the internal and external environments.
Section 27 of the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPC on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization, which was adopted by the plenum, calls for efforts to strengthen Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade center, as well as to develop the Hong Kong and Macao SARs into international hubs for high-caliber talent, and to facilitate them to play a greater role in China’s opening to the outside world.
These specific requirements laid out by the CPC Central Committee for the two SARs have naturally raised a question for Hong Kong society: How should Hong Kong achieve these goals?
In my view, Hong Kong should first identify its weakness as an international financial, shipping and trade center by conducting a comprehensive review, and then strive to consolidate and enhance its international status with a reformist mindset, a long-term strategy, and innovative thinking.
Let’s start with the city’s status as an international financial center. Many are fond of juxtaposing Hong Kong with Singapore when in fact their own competitive advantages are too unique to compare. Hong Kong’s stock market, for example, has more than 2,600 listed companies with a total market capitalization of HK$36 trillion ($4.6 trillion) and an average daily turnover of around HK$100 billion, whereas Singapore’s stock market has a market capitalization of less than HK$6 trillion and an average daily turnover of less than HK$10 billion.
It takes both confidence and determination for Hong Kong to consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial center. It should identify its own priorities, and pursue its goals without hesitation. It should also have long-term planning on development strategy.
Now that the third plenary session of the CPC Central Committee has set out the road map, the city should align its efforts with national strategies. It will eventually reap dividends with its contribution to the country’s new reform campaign
Thorough consideration should also be given to the question of how the financial sectors of Hong Kong and Shanghai can engage in “differentiated competition” rather than direct competition. While the central authorities are supportive of the development of both cities’ financial sectors, the visions and focuses for the two differ. Hong Kong should provide input to the central authorities on the national strategy for the SAR’s development.
Hong Kong’s role as an international shipping center also needs a comprehensive review. A report released by shipping research organization Alphaliner showed Hong Kong’s container throughput dropped by 14.1 percent year-on-year to 14.342 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2023, a decline for the seventh consecutive year. In comparison, Shenzhen outperformed by far, with volume of nearly 30 million TEUs.
Hong Kong as a free port boasts swift and efficient customs clearance; it should delve into its own inadequacies and identify areas for improvement along with making justified proposals to the central authorities, rather than grumbling about losing business to Chinese mainland ports.
In the long run, Hong Kong needs to augment its trade volume by expanding its markets; for example, to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS, as well as other emerging economies. The city should also strive to develop into a high-end logistics hub for Eurasia.
In a nutshell, to enhance the global standing of its “three centers”, Hong Kong should not employ a piecemeal approach but formulate long-term strategies with a reformist mindset.
The requirement for Hong Kong to develop into an international hub for high-caliber talent is a new positioning for the city. Hong Kong is one of the most attractive places to high-caliber international talent among other world-renowned cities. The new positioning designated by the CPC Central Committee is a crystallization of multiple factors, which constitutes a new opportunity for Hong Kong. Human resources are the most dynamic factor of production and the most crucial factor for driving innovation. This explains why high-caliber international talent is considered a key driving force for the long-term development of a city.
The priorities for Hong Kong are to take a hard look at what areas are found wanting in building an international hub for high-caliber talent; what support is needed from the country; in what way Hong Kong can build a channel for talent to flow between the city, the mainland and other places; and how Hong Kong can effectively retain international professionals once they settle in the city.
Chinese modernization encompasses the modernization of Hong Kong, and the city is not an outsider to the cause of further deepening reform comprehensively. Now that the third plenary session of the CPC Central Committee has set out the road map, the city should align its efforts with national strategies. It will eventually reap dividends with its contribution to the country’s new reform campaign.
The author is vice-chairman of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of Bauhinia Magazine.
The third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee has not only set the direction for China’s national development and modernization in the coming years, but also provided general guidelines on how the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region should further its own development by playing a significant role in the process of the country’s modernization.
In elaborating on the resolution adopted at the third plenary session when meeting a delegation led by Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po in Beijing last week, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, said that reform and opening-up has been a winning strategy for China to modernize itself by advancing with the times, and that reform is also necessary for the HKSAR to pursue further development in the wake of drastic changes in both the internal and external environments.
Section 27 of the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPC on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization, which was adopted by the plenum, calls for efforts to strengthen Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade center, as well as to develop the Hong Kong and Macao SARs into international hubs for high-caliber talent, and to facilitate them to play a greater role in China’s opening to the outside world.
These specific requirements laid out by the CPC Central Committee for the two SARs have naturally raised a question for Hong Kong society: How should Hong Kong achieve these goals?
In my view, Hong Kong should first identify its weakness as an international financial, shipping and trade center by conducting a comprehensive review, and then strive to consolidate and enhance its international status with a reformist mindset, a long-term strategy, and innovative thinking.
Let’s start with the city’s status as an international financial center. Many are fond of juxtaposing Hong Kong with Singapore when in fact their own competitive advantages are too unique to compare. Hong Kong’s stock market, for example, has more than 2,600 listed companies with a total market capitalization of HK$36 trillion ($4.6 trillion) and an average daily turnover of around HK$100 billion, whereas Singapore’s stock market has a market capitalization of less than HK$6 trillion and an average daily turnover of less than HK$10 billion.
It takes both confidence and determination for Hong Kong to consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial center. It should identify its own priorities, and pursue its goals without hesitation. It should also have long-term planning on development strategy.
Now that the third plenary session of the CPC Central Committee has set out the road map, the city should align its efforts with national strategies. It will eventually reap dividends with its contribution to the country’s new reform campaign
Thorough consideration should also be given to the question of how the financial sectors of Hong Kong and Shanghai can engage in “differentiated competition” rather than direct competition. While the central authorities are supportive of the development of both cities’ financial sectors, the visions and focuses for the two differ. Hong Kong should provide input to the central authorities on the national strategy for the SAR’s development.
Hong Kong’s role as an international shipping center also needs a comprehensive review. A report released by shipping research organization Alphaliner showed Hong Kong’s container throughput dropped by 14.1 percent year-on-year to 14.342 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2023, a decline for the seventh consecutive year. In comparison, Shenzhen outperformed by far, with volume of nearly 30 million TEUs.
Hong Kong as a free port boasts swift and efficient customs clearance; it should delve into its own inadequacies and identify areas for improvement along with making justified proposals to the central authorities, rather than grumbling about losing business to Chinese mainland ports.
In the long run, Hong Kong needs to augment its trade volume by expanding its markets; for example, to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS, as well as other emerging economies. The city should also strive to develop into a high-end logistics hub for Eurasia.
In a nutshell, to enhance the global standing of its “three centers”, Hong Kong should not employ a piecemeal approach but formulate long-term strategies with a reformist mindset.
The requirement for Hong Kong to develop into an international hub for high-caliber talent is a new positioning for the city. Hong Kong is one of the most attractive places to high-caliber international talent among other world-renowned cities. The new positioning designated by the CPC Central Committee is a crystallization of multiple factors, which constitutes a new opportunity for Hong Kong. Human resources are the most dynamic factor of production and the most crucial factor for driving innovation. This explains why high-caliber international talent is considered a key driving force for the long-term development of a city.
The priorities for Hong Kong are to take a hard look at what areas are found wanting in building an international hub for high-caliber talent; what support is needed from the country; in what way Hong Kong can build a channel for talent to flow between the city, the mainland and other places; and how Hong Kong can effectively retain international professionals once they settle in the city.
Chinese modernization encompasses the modernization of Hong Kong, and the city is not an outsider to the cause of further deepening reform comprehensively. Now that the third plenary session of the CPC Central Committee has set out the road map, the city should align its efforts with national strategies. It will eventually reap dividends with its contribution to the country’s new reform campaign.
The author is vice-chairman of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of Bauhinia Magazine.
Now that the third plenary session of the CPC Central Committee has set out the road map, the city should align its efforts with national strategies. It will eventually reap dividends with its contribution to the country’s new reform campaign
