HKSAR must not turn historic opportunity into regret

The speech by President Xi Jinping at the grand gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone found an enthusiastic audience in Hong Kong as well as Shenzhen. In fact, Hong Kong society was so inspired that multiple organizations held three separate symposiums to share understanding of and thoughts about the speech.

At one such event, Luo Huining, director of the Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, emphasized the importance of fully implementing the principle of “one country, two systems” and promoting the integration of Hong Kong’s and Macao’s development into the overall development strategy of the country, adding it is of great significance to the next stage of Hong Kong’s development. He also noted that advancing the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and enriching the practice of “one country, two systems” is not only an opportunity for mainland cities like Shenzhen but also a historic opportunity for Hong Kong. Hong Kong cannot afford to wait, lest this historic opportunity become historic regret.

Luo said Shenzhen and Hong Kong are fully connected and Hong Kong should step up cooperation with Shenzhen by seizing the historic opportunity, participating in the Bay Area development, fully integrating its own development into the national development strategy, and readying Hong Kong for future success!

To seize this “historic opportunity”, Hong Kong should pay more attention to its role in the national development while maintaining its strengths in the market economy and free trade, also known as an “outward economy”. China not only has the second largest economy in the world, but also the first economy capable of positive growth this year, after successfully getting COVID-19 under effective control on the mainland. Hong Kong should work harder in exploring business opportunities on the mainland and play a bigger role in national development.

Objectively speaking, Hong Kong does well as an outward economy, but it has a lot of room for improvement in terms of tapping into national development on the mainland. One can blame more than one-and-a-half centuries of British rule for some people’s bias against the mainland, but no one can deny the great changes that have taken place in Hong Kong in the past 40 years or so thanks to the reform and opening-up on the mainland. One of the many advantages of the mainland is the endless opportunities it creates and Hong Kong cannot afford to let them pass.

For starters, the mainland economy is definitely recovering after the coronavirus was effectively contained; while other developed economies are struggling to restart because the COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading, the mainland’s gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent in the first three quarters. The World Bank expects the mainland’s full-year GDP to grow 2 percent, and a much bigger 7.9 percent next year. The mainland is the only major economy in the world expected to achieve positive growth this year; its economic rebound will benefit others, including Hong Kong, for sure.

Secondly, the mainland enjoys an unmatched advantage in its “internal circulation”, thanks to its 1.4 billion-strong population, uneven development among regions, large and diverse consumer groups with multilevel purchasing power and a complete industrial system. Bolstered by a huge domestic market and complete industrial system, the mainland economy can rely on its own strengths for sustained development.

Thirdly, the mainland is determined to open its doors wider in the years to come. Its “internal circulation” strategy does not reject “external circulation”. Rather, the “dual circulation” model places emphasis on both “internal circulation” and “external circulation”. The “internal circulation” strategy will create numerous opportunities for both Shenzhen and Hong Kong through increased cooperation.

How should Hong Kong seize the opportunity? The SAR needs to fully tap into the collective wisdom of local society. The central government has given Shenzhen unparalleled decision-making power in the next stage of reform and opening-up and hopes Hong Kong will do its best in joining Shenzhen by promoting the alignment of rules and regulations.

Shenzhen’s new development strategy will not reduce Hong Kong’s economic opportunities or marginalize the SAR. Both Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be growth engines for the Bay Area. Hong Kong should be Shenzhen’s best partner in achieving breakthroughs in fulfilling the 27 reform initiatives and 40 pilot experiments assigned by the central government in its next five-year plan.

Over the past two decades, Hong Kong has lost many opportunities due to political interruptions. That is why it must prevent such obstructions from happening again and focus on sustainable development. Hong Kong society should build consensus, maintain a clear vision of the future going forward, and seize the opportunities expected to be created by the country’s “internal circulation” strategy.

Both Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be growth engines for the Bay Area. Hong Kong should be Shenzhen’s best partner in achieving breakthroughs in fulfilling the 27 reform initiatives and 40 pilot experiments assigned by the central government in its next five-year plan.