Editorial | Hong Kong must rise to critical reform role bestowed by Beijing

Throughout the more than 45 years of China’s era of opening up and reform, Hong Kong has had a central role to play, thanks to its free economy, sophisticated financial markets and common law system. Indeed, the city was the country’s most important investment channel – an astounding 60 per cent of accumulated foreign investment on the mainland had originated or passed through it as of the end of last year. It is good to learn the city still has an integral role as China enters a new phase of development under President Xi Jinping. The message was reinforced at meetings in Hong Kong and Macau to spread the message of the Communist Party’s July plenum.

The five-yearly third plenum has been a platform for announcing major shifts in economic policy and direction – including the pivotal 1978 meeting at which Deng Xiaoping launched the open-door policy and ushered in private entrepreneurship and foreign-invested joint ventures in a bid to build a “moderately prosperous” society. In the new era of development aimed at creating a more powerful China, Xi is trying to orchestrate a shift in the economy from traditional sectors such as manufacturing to more “high-quality” sectors leveraging technology and efficiency for more stable growth and productivity.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao pointed out Xi’s support for Hong Kong’s “unique” role in the country’s modernisation, including its ability to finance major developments and hailed its contributions as “irreplaceable”. Wang stressed the city remained China’s most important investment channel but should build on its advantages, including its international connectivity, and had work to do to better leverage its position as the “superconnector and super value adder” linking the world and the mainland.

In the past, Hong Kong’s support for the country’s broader goals was largely unreciprocated. That has changed. Wang said Beijing would boost its role in trade, strengthen its connections to Belt and Road Initiative countries and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and tap its strength in supply chain and asset management to deepen its participation in digitalisation of trade in the Greater Bay Area and the green economy. Beijing is working to integrate Hong Kong and Macau with nine cities in Guangdong province to build an economic powerhouse in the bay area.

In return, Hong Kong needs to work to reinvent itself as a global talent hub while bolstering its standing as an international finance, maritime and trade centre. The city’s role in helping the country advance is cemented and the challenge ahead has been made clear. Now it must leverage its unique strengths and deliver on its mission to support the country’s new era of high quality development to build a modernised, powerful nation by 2035.