Dr Jonathan CHOI Koon-shum (Chairman of the 53rd terms of office) April 2024
All sectors of Hong Kong must leverage the opportunities arising from the country’s strategy to develop new quality productive forces, consolidate Hong Kong’s “eight centers” positioning, and further enhance internationalization, so that Hong Kong can continue to thrive in the new era.
The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance took effect upon gazettal in March to provide sturdier legal protection for national security, thus allowing the business and other sectors in Hong Kong to focus on promoting economic and social progresses. Meanwhile, this year’s “Two Sessions” presented many unprecedented ideas. New viewpoints and objectives from accelerating the development of new quality productive forces to expanding high-quality opening up are covered by the Government Work Report, conveying the leadership’s optimism in China’s development to stabilize market expectations, sustain momentum and bolster confidence, while offering clear guidance for Hong Kong.
“Two Sessions” give rise to new opportunities for Hong Kong
In the Government Work Report, Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council, listed “striving to modernize the industrial system and developing new quality productive forces at a faster pace” as the first of the 10 Major Tasks for 2024, revealing the Central Government’s determination to promote industrial innovation and to create new growth impetus and new advantages through technological innovation.
The development of new quality productive forces is expected to generate new opportunities for Hong Kong. For one thing, Hong Kong can contribute to the country’s rising position in the global innovation arena by building an internationally leading research platform and bringing together innovation and technology (I&T) resources. Hong Kong will also be able to support the green transformation of Mainland provinces and cities by leveraging its expertise in green finance and low-carbon economy, in addition to playing a key role in the vigorous development of the Mainland’s financial industry. It is the eighth consecutive year for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) to be mentioned in the Government Work Report. This year, the report explicitly stated that the Central Government would support the Greater Bay Area “in better playing their role as drivers of high-quality development”. In light of this, Hong Kong can further cooperate with the Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area to turn the area into an international hub for technological innovation and create new quality productive forces for the country.
Hong Kong plays key role in the development of new quality productive forces
Many of the proposals I submitted to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference during the “Two Sessions” are in fact related to the development of new quality productive forces, such as enhancing the coordination of I&T developments in the Greater Bay Area to promote strategic areas like large models, advanced computing power and quantum information, and to transform the Greater Bay Area into a hub for AI application and innovation. I also suggested promoting national digital innovation and creating trading platforms, allowing Shenzhen and Hong Kong to set up a cross-boundary data flow pilot zone, and supporting private tech companies to step up innovation and expand their businesses.
The Mainland can leverage Hong Kong’s advantages to promote high-quality I&T development, such as by establishing high-end international laboratories in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, and setting up special channels at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border in Hetao to facilitate the movements of research professionals and related employees of tech companies, so as to promote the alignment of the industrial, academic and research sectors and the transformation of R&D outcomes in the Greater Bay Area.
I also hope the country can assist Mainland enterprises in accelerating the progress of establishing overseas production bases for new energy vehicles in the ASEAN and Middle Eastern markets, as well as reach agreements with these markets on technological standards and certification regulations. By offering funds and tax incentives, the country can also clarify the development direction of cross-boundary e-commerce and encourage e-commerce platforms to set up warehouses in Hong Kong, whose arbitration services can be used to resolve commercial disputes. Meanwhile, Hong Kong can explore developing a carbon trading market in coordination with the Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area and provide diverse financial support to facilitate the green transformation of the Mainland economy.
During the “Two Sessions”, Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of the State Council, restated the Central Government’s support for “One Country, Two Systems”, and expressed hope for Hong Kong to serve its “super connector” role in the country’s pursuit for even higher-quality development. This underscores the great importance the Central Government attaches to the development of Hong Kong and gives the city greater confidence in its future.
All sectors of Hong Kong must leverage the opportunities arising from the country’s strategy to develop new quality productive forces, consolidate Hong Kong’s “eight centers” positioning, and further enhance internationalization, so that Hong Kong can continue to thrive in the new era.
