Hong Kong leader John Lee promises more overseas trips and closer cooperation with emerging economies to boost city’s development

Lee tells business conference city must continue to cultivate its links with developed countries, but be on the alert for opportunities elsewhere

Zheng Yanxiong, director of central government’s liaison office, says city should ‘expand international perspectives’ and ‘break away from habitual thinking’

Reading Time:4 minutes

Various sectors are uniting to open a new chapter of prosperity for Hong Kong, the chief executive says. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 11:49pm, 2 Aug 2023Updated: 1:39am, 3 Aug 2023

Even though the global economy is slowing, Hong Kong still has a lot going for it, the city’s leader has said as he unveiled plans for more overseas visits to boost links with emerging economies and enable the financial hub to be a better bridge to mainland China.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, speaking at a symposium on Wednesday, painted an optimistic picture of the months ahead as the city continued to push for economic recovery, announcing that agreements had been sealed on more than 10 projects.

These spanned the Greater Bay Area (GBA) development, the Belt and Road Initiative, innovation and technology and the Northern Metropolis, a tech hub at the border with mainland China that was about to start its development phase.

They also include memorandums of understanding to build smart ports in the Greater Bay Area and an innovation collaboration between the University of Hong Kong and a Vietnamese tech company.

Chief Executive John Lee (centre); Zheng Yanxiong, the director of the central government’s liaison office in the city third from left) at a symposium designed to help boost the economy. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

“This is a good example of various sectors getting united to open a new chapter of prosperity for Hong Kong,” Lee said.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x