It was with these concerns in mind that our government unveiled an action agenda put together by four focus groups which met to study how development could be synchronised as part of the mainland's 11th Five-Year Programme.

The agenda includes 50 strategic proposals and 207 areas in which we need to take action. I am pleased to see that many of them are ideas that the Liberal Party has suggested, such as promoting multidestination tourism itineraries, helping Hong Kong businesses to open mainland markets and promoting the exchange of talent with the mainland.

Some complain they are nothing more than old proposals served up to make the government seem progressive. I disagree. They may not be new, but they are important and achievable targets that we would do well to embrace.

The action agenda is not without flaws. It is big on ideas but short of practicalities. There are no concrete timetables. Ideas such as a third airport runway, a new container terminal and cross-boundary railway links have been under discussion for years but the agenda fails to put a date on them.

Noticeably, the list is not selective. The goals need to be prioritised so departments know where to turn their focus first. It is a shortcoming the chief executive acknowledged in a TV interview. I hope he can act swiftly to address it.

Furthermore, it is important that there is close liaison with the mainland over these proposals. Their aim is to tie in with China's 11th five-year plan, so the government must talk in detail with mainland officials to ensure that we have the support and liaison of the central government. This is particularly important in relation to the action agenda's financial proposals.

One of the focus groups suggests developing commodity and financial futures markets in Hong Kong and on the mainland, and gaining the support of the central government in developing yuan futures and options trading markets in Hong Kong.

This proposal would seem to be at odds with existing financial market policy and yuan trade restrictions on the mainland, and yet the agenda fails to address this apparent contradiction in what we want and what we can have.

There are potentially huge impacts in some of the strategic proposals, such as increasing the outward mobility of mainland investors and financial intermediaries, and expanding the presence of Hong Kong financial intermediaries on the mainland.

They require close liaison with mainland officials if they are to become a reality.

The action agenda is a positive step for Hong Kong and one that holds options to improve our competitiveness and keep our city number one. I have lingering concerns, however, that our competitiveness may be damaged from within.

The chief executive and principal officials have warned recently that if the Wage Protection Movement is unsuccessful, the government will implement a minimum wage. I fear this would be a potentially devastating step.

In its report recently, the Heritage Foundation warned that a minimum wage would hit the operation of the market and increase unemployment.

American economist Edmund Phelps, who won the Nobel Prize for economics, also spoke out against minimum wage policies.

I strongly believe that by concentrating on developing and strengthening our economy, the government can be most effective in raising workers' wages and bridging the rich-poor divide to create a more harmonious society.

At a time when our status as the world's freest economy and our ability to keep pace with mainland economic growth are under intense scrutiny, a restrictive, job-threatening policy of this kind would be dangerously counter- productive.

James Tien Pei-chun is chairman of the Liberal Party