Hong Kong has special role to play in stabilising China-US relationship, forum told
- City straddles East and West but must make greater effort to rebuild bridges with rest of world, panellists say at inaugural Global Prosperity Summit
- ‘We are well-positioned to really maximise our role as a superconnector and an intermediary between the mainland and the world,’ says Regina Ip, who is spearheading summit
Hong Kong has a special role to play in stabilising the China-US relationship, but it must also step up its game in rebuilding bridges with the rest of the world, according to analysts.
They made the call at the inaugural Global Prosperity Summit on Tuesday, spearheaded by Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convenor of the government’s key decision-making Executive Council. The gathering is aimed at facilitating greater exchanges between Hong Kong and the rest of the world and clearing up misunderstandings about the country.
“Hong Kong can play a big role [in the China-US relationship]. We are an international cosmopolitan [city]. We are well-connected. We understand the culture and political systems of both mainland [China] and the West,” Ip said.
“We are well-positioned to really maximise our role as a superconnector and an intermediary between the mainland and the world.”
Ip’s comments echoed panellist Professor Huang Ping, director of the Centre for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He described Hong Kong as not only unique within the country but also the world.
He attributed the quality to the fact Hong Kong practised a capitalist system on Chinese soil, allowing it to be part of the Western economy.
“We don’t have such a place anywhere else. So Hong Kong will bridge, not only the US and China, [but also] China with the rest of the world,” he said.