US executive urges Hong Kong to step up efforts to counter negative narratives, says American business community not well aware of Greater Bay Area blueprint
- Alex Foard of California-based Bay Area Council says some businesses believe Hong Kong has lost autonomy, calls for proactive promotional efforts to dismiss negative narratives
- ‘What Shenzhen is, what Guangdong is, what Hong Kong is, and how they all interplay in this Greater Bay … If you ask a lot of folks, they do not necessarily even understand the relationship,’ he adds
The American business community does not know enough about China’s development blueprint for the Greater Bay Area, an executive of a San Francisco association has said, adding that some even believe that Hong Kong has lost its autonomy.
Alex Foard, senior director of the California-based Bay Area Council, on Tuesday urged the city’s authorities to be more proactive in their promotion drive, saying these efforts could allow entrepreneurs to capture opportunities in the region and counter negative narratives about Hong Kong.
Only two people said they had knowledge of the national blueprint that the central and Hong Kong governments had been eager to promote.
Under the ambitious plan introduced a decade ago, Beijing aims to build a hi-tech powerhouse by 2035 by economically integrating Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province in southern China.
“I think that the depth of understanding of what the Greater Bay Area is and how the different cities play a role in that economy, is something that is not well understood in the US,” Foard said.
“What Shenzhen is, what Guangdong is, what Hong Kong is, and how they all interplay in this Greater Bay … If you ask a lot of folks, they do not necessarily even understand the relationship.
“I think education-wise, a lot more could be done, so that people understand how they can take advantage of the Guangdong and Hong Kong markets.”