More benefits from CEPA

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between the mainland and Hong Kong. There is no doubt Hong Kong has benefited greatly from CEPA and consequent supplementary agreements in the past 10 years. As we celebrate the success of CEPA, it is necessary to maintain the momentum of mainland-Hong Kong cooperation by enriching crossboundary cooperation in the years to come.

CEPA began as a supportive measure for Hong Kong to speed up its recovery from the impact of the SARS epidemic in 2003. It has proved a much-needed boost to Hong Kong’s economy through regional cooperation and increasing access to the vast mainland market. It is also a successful model for mutual benefit and common prosperity, as the mainland has also benefited from investments and advanced management know-how from Hong Kong. It is believed that CEPA will continue to grow in the scale of market access for Hong Kong-based service providers to expand their businesses and help their mainland counterparts modernize along the way.

The Ministry of Commerce is working on a plan to open up the mainland market for free service trade as we speak and it may be presented to the State Council for approval by the end of this year. It is only a matter of time before Hong Kong-based services will be allowed to operate on the mainland. The central government has promised greater market access especially for services Hong Kong is strong in, such as financial, professional air transportation and logistics services.

There is no denying that market opening is never easy and some tough obstacles will remain in the near future, but the last 10 years has paved the way for mainland-Hong Kong cooperation and mutual benefit in market opening for the service trade. CEPA is a win-win solution and has every reason to thrive in the years to come.