Hong Kong urged to play up its legal strengths to profit from Beijing’s ‘one belt, one road’ plan
City can develop its dispute resolution service, says outgoing Legco president Jasper Tsang, who denies he will use new research project as a policy platform in run for chief executive’s job
A policy research project steered by Beijing-friendly heavyweight Jasper Tsang Yok-sing has proposed that local dispute resolution services be further developed to cash in on Beijing’s “one belt, one road” economic initiative.
But the outgoing Legislative Council president denied suggestions that it would become his policy platform as one of Hong Kong’s chief executive hopefuls.
“I welcome chief executive aspirants to include our policy recommendations in their platforms,” Tsang said on Wednesday.
He declined to say clearly whether he would run in the election to choose the city’s leader next March, while reiterating there should be a genuine contest.
In its first attempt to recommend policies to the government, Hong Kong Vision Project – launched by the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute think tank – suggested that the city take advantage of its legal strength to develop its services for member countries joining the belt and road initiative.
The think tank said the city’s legal sector should also seize the opportunities to assist its counterpart on mainland China in aligning itself with the world.
Hong Kong, as an international legal hub, should establish an international dispute resolution complex that would house all forms of alternative dispute resolution services, according to its recommendations.
The belt and road initiative stretches across 65 countries on three continents, covering a total population of more than four billion. The Asian Development Bank estimated that total investment relating to the cross-border development plans in Asia until 2020 would exceed US$8 trillion.
The institute noted that business deals made in member countries, which adopted different legal systems, might pose legal risks to cross-border investors, and that the choice of Hong Kong law as the basis of belt and road project contracts could be a solution.
It also proposed that arrangements for reciprocal recognition between mainland China and Hong Kong be strengthened to enhance the enforcement of arbitral findings.
But while stressing the initiative would create business opportunities for the legal profession, Tsang said Hong Kong had to uphold its policy of “one country, two systems”.
“Thanks to the policy of one country, two systems, Hong Kong is able to play an irreplaceable role in China’s development,” he said.
Tsang added that the approach had given the city a unique edge over its competitors in establishing an international dispute resolution centre under the belt and road strategy.
