Does the US-China trade war mean an ironic new opportunity for Hong Kong?

Speakers at the Post’s China Conference cognisant of city’s advantages, as an economy open to trade from the US, the mainland and Southeast Asia

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Minimising the impacts of the Sino-US trade war on Hong Kong remains a tough challenge for the city’s government. Photo: AFP

Tammy Tam

Tammy Tam is the South China Morning Post's Publisher.

Published: 3:30pm, 14 Oct 2018Updated: 2:57pm, 15 Oct 2018

“What is good for Hong Kong is good for China; what is good for China is unbelievably good for Hong Kong,” the city’s first post-1997 leader, Tung Chee-hwa, once said in what became a household quote.

Tung’s words reflected his strong conviction 21 years ago, when the city’s sovereignty was returned to China, and have since been echoed by many.

Interestingly, some used to half-jokingly say that while Tung was right in general, it could be the other way round in reality – only when the country faltered would it mean opportunities for Hong Kong.

This position is not devoid of logic; in fact it could be seen as the other side of the same coin.

That thinking was evident in the two-day China Conference organised by the Post in Kuala Lumpur last week, the first time the event was held outside Hong Kong.

“What is good for Hong Kong is good for China; what is good for China is unbelievably good for Hong Kong”: Former Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa. Photo: K.Y. Cheng