Hong Kong and China need to strengthen co-operation in the field of information technology to maximise the development of IT and improve economic well-being, according to a study.
James Fok, deputy executive director of the Hong Kong Productivity Council, said technological research and analysis in China was highly developed, and Hong Kong had a wealth of experience in technology applications.
'Hong Kong is a culturally mixed society. People have quite high levels of living standards and purchasing power. The infrastructure is sophisticated,' Mr Fok said. 'As a result, the territory has always been a crucial testing site of innovative products such as electronic money.
'It will be a win-win situation if the edges of both places are fully utilised.' However, no significant technological partnership between the two places had been formed in the past 10 years, the study found, as IT researchers in China and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong felt unable to adapt technology into sub-systems ready for application.
Mr Fok cited the example of cellular phones. 'China has thoroughly studied GSM [global system for mobile communications] technology. In Hong Kong, GSM phones are widely used. But no one in the two regions has been involved in related chip-set and software development.' He believed the real challenge Hong Kong faced was the economic transformation from low to high value-added activities, instead of merely from a manufacturing to a service economy.
Moving to advanced technology was one of the solutions, the study said.
Preconditions needed for successful hi-tech development included a pool of technology experts, capital, entrepreneurs enthusiastic about technology application, and a sizeable market.