Opinion | With Hetao tech hub, Hong Kong is reimagining its economic future

The recent opening of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Hetao cooperation zone is a defining milestone in Hong Kong’s journey to become an international tech hub.

Heralded by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu as a pivotal moment for local innovation, this is more than just a new facility; it marks a strategic transformation in Hong Kong’s economic identity. The park is designed as a world-class industry-academia-research platform for collaboration, focusing on cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing.

However, its success depends on a seamless integration into the Greater Bay Area. Cross-border collaboration challenges remain, particularly concerning the movement of data, knowledge, talent and capital across administrative boundaries.

The park’s research-plus-industrial pilot testing model is a critical step in this transition – bridging the gap between the city’s strong academic research (powered by its top-rated universities) and commercialisation, while embedding Hong Kong’s innovation chain into the Greater Bay Area’s supply networks, market and manufacturing ecosystem to create globally competitive “Innovated in Hong Kong” brands.

Spatially, the Hetao park illustrates a significant geographical reorientation of Hong Kong’s innovation and tech ambitions, expanding beyond the traditional urban areas to the very edge of the border with Shenzhen. This is not merely a response to land scarcity, but a strategic move to enhance physical and functional connectivity within the Greater Bay Area.