Hong Kong must prepare for a China fully open to the world
Debate throws spotlight on the future challenges facing Hong Kong and how it must adapt amid the inevitable competition from mainland cities
Hong Kong must prepare for the day when China opens fully to the world, changing forever the city's traditional role as a gateway to the Middle Kingdom, a senior Hong Kong government official says.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Professor Chan Ka-keung told a seminar organised by the South China Morning Post that the city needed to catch up to the changing circumstances on the mainland as its economic development reached a new level.
"China will be eventually completely open. Hong Kong's ability to grow as the unique gateway when China is closed - that day will sooner or later be over," Chan told the audience at the "Redefining Hong Kong" seminar at the JW Marriott hotel.
Chan was one of five panellists debating the question of "The role of Hong Kong as the Ever-Evolving Gateway to and for China" at the seminar, moderated by the Post's financial services editor, George Chen.
"We should not be afraid … The more open China is, even though that means more competitions from other Chinese cities, it will provide Hong Kong with more opportunities," Chan said.
"The opening up of China in the past 30 years has brought Hong Kong more opportunities, not fewer," he said.