American Chamber of Commerce in China says smoothly functioning commerce in Hong Kong ‘fundamentally important’
- Nine weeks of protests, civil unrest have disrupted businesses in the city
- Smooth commerce in Hong Kong ‘validator’ of ‘one country, two systems’ concept, AmCham China says
An influential American business group in China said that a “smoothly functioning” system of commerce in Hong Kong was “fundamentally important” to the business interests of its members in the mainland.
The comments by the American Chamber of Commerce in China come as business in the city has faced disruptions over the past nine weeks as protests and civil unrest over a now-suspended extradition bill have blocked streets, shut down parts of the city’s transit system and forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights at Hong Kong’s airport.
The protests have expanded to larger grievances about the city’s leadership and how the police have responded to the demonstrations.
“It is without question that smoothly functioning Hong Kong commerce is fundamentally important to our members’ business interests and an important validator of the ‘one country, two systems’ approach,” Timothy Stratford, chairman of AmCham China, said. “Faithful implementation of this approach helps Hong Kong maintain its reputation as an attractive destination for foreign investment.”
One country, two systems is a concept where Hong Kong and Macau are part of China, but retain their economic and political systems.