Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan (third left) and other members of a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delegation pose for a group photo at a forum on cooperation between China and Uzbekistan in Urumqi, Xinjiang on Jan 22, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG – Highlighting Hong Kong’s role as a “super connector”, Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan led a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delegation on Monday in attending a forum on cooperation between China and Uzbekistan in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The delegation’s attendance demonstrated the SAR’s commitment to contribute to the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative and to promote the city’s ties with both Xinjiang and Uzbekistan, according to an HKSAR government statement.

As a preferred international legal and dispute resolution services center practicing common law, Hong Kong is well positioned to build with other regions a system of fair, reasonable and transparent international trade rules, Cheung said

Hong Kong, with its distinctive advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the "one country, two systems" principle, has been playing the role of both a "super connector" and a "super value-adder" for the Belt and Road countries and regions, Cheung said.

As a preferred international legal and dispute resolution services center practicing common law, Hong Kong is well positioned to build with other regions a system of fair, reasonable and transparent international trade rules, he added.

Cheung joined a group meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjayev, followed by a banquet on Sunday.

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He said that Uzbekistan is one of Hong Kong's most important trading partners in Central Asia, with bilateral merchandise trade in 2022 amounting to HK$6 billion ($767,000), a nearly 17-fold increase over 2021.

On Monday morning, Cheung visited an Uzbekistan product fair, and attended the opening ceremony of the forum thereafter together with the delegation. In the afternoon, Cheung called on member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regional Committee and Executive Vice-Chairman of the People's Government of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Chen Weijun.

Cheung said that regional cooperation is an integral part of the concerted effort to develop the Belt and Road Initiative.

Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan (left) visits an Uzbekistan product fair during a forum on cooperation between China and Uzbekistan in Urumqi, Xinjiang on Jan 22, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

He also noted that the HKSAR has signed nine mutual legal assistance arrangements with the mainland on various matters, including the Mainland Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance which will come into force by the end of this month.

It will be conducive to businesses choosing Hong Kong as the seat of arbitration, and adopting Hong Kong law as the applicable law for their contracts, enabling Hong Kong to better contribute to national development, Cheung said.  

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Looking ahead, Hong Kong is set to further leverage on its unique advantages to play a more active role in the collective aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative, he added.