The highly anticipated third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee concluded on Thursday with the adoption of a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization.

The third plenary session identified seven focal areas and set the goal of achieving these reform tasks by the 80th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China’s founding in 2029, including devising a high-level socialist market economic system; advancing whole-process people’s democracy; constructing a strong socialist cultural nation; improving the quality of people’s lives; building a beautiful China; and advancing the Peaceful China Initiative to a higher level, while improving the Party’s capacity for leadership and long-term governance.

These seven tasks are expected to be reflected in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) and embodied in the laws and regulations to be passed by the National People’s Congress. As the nation is committed to deepening reforms, should Hong Kong, as a special administrative region of China, also undertake reforms? Should it also break through entrenched vested interests? If the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is to implement reforms, it will definitely have the full support of the central government. This was openly stated by President Xi Jinping in a speech delivered on July 1, 2022:

“The central government also fully supports Hong Kong in taking active yet prudent steps to advance reforms and dismantle the barriers of vested interests in order to unlock the enormous creativity and development potential of Hong Kong society.”

In April, during the opening ceremony of National Security Education Day in Hong Kong, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, also publicly called for reforms in Hong Kong, saying that Hong Kong should employ new thinking, new methods, and new paths to solve the problems it faces.

After the conclusion of the third plenary session, members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and editorial writers in Hong Kong have called for reforms in the SAR. The SAR government should contemplate reforms on the following five criteria: objectives; scope; timing; steps; and central government support.

National reforms involve systemic and institutional changes, not just new policy ideas. The SAR government should also proceed with its own reforms this way. For example, the city’s longstanding problem of insufficient public housing cannot be resolved merely with temporary solutions such as the simplified public housing program; instead, institutional solutions are needed. For instance, why does it take so long for raw land in Hong Kong to become developed? Why has Hong Kong, a city with a land area of 1,100 square kilometers, allocated just 10 percent of its area for residential living? And why does it take so long to build public housing?

A comparison is more telling. Compared to the “Shanghai speed” as demonstrated in the setup of Tesla’s Shanghai gigafactory, Hong Kong lags behind in many ways.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrived in Shanghai on July 10, 2018, and signed an investment agreement. On Jan 7, 2019, construction started on the factory. Less than a year later, on Dec 30, 2019, the first batch of Tesla Model 3 vehicles was delivered from the Shanghai gigafactory. The gigafactory rapidly developed; 1 million vehicles had been manufactured by August 2022, and 2 million by Sept 6, 2023. From signing the initial agreement in July 2018 to building the factory and delivering cars by the end of 2019, Shanghai took only 18 months. The start of operations at the end of 2019 to the off-line of the 2 millionth car took only four years. During the same period, has there been significant change or large-scale construction in Hong Kong?

For the first few decades since the start of the Chinese mainland’s reform and opening-up, Hong Kong’s system and mechanisms were considered superior, and the mainland has learned from Hong Kong in many areas. But times have changed, and today’s “Shanghai speed” has clearly surpassed the “Hong Kong speed”. Is this a signal that Hong Kong’s system and mechanisms need reform?

Recently, Hong Kong has been vigorously hosting major events to attract tourists, which is indeed a positive step. Events like the ongoing book fair and the Doraemon exhibition have attracted many overseas visitors, which is laudable. However, the most significant event in Hong Kong should be reform. The SAR government must undertake substantial reforms to address longstanding, deep-seated problems. The government must reflect on why Hong Kong lags behind the mainland in terms of development speed and study how to dismantle barriers and unleash Hong Kong’s development potential.

Questions to consider include whether the decision-making, approval processes, and implementation processes involving civil servants require reform, and whether the thinking and working style of civil servants need to change. Additionally, there’s a need to reform personnel arrangements and promotion mechanisms for civil servants, echoing Xia’s call for new thinking, new methods, and new paths.

Clearly, reforms must be methodical and well-structured. They will inevitably disrupt vested interests and move somebody’s cheese. That means political courage and central government support are essential for smooth policy implementation. In conclusion, as the nation deepens its reforms, the SAR must recognize the need for change, strive for change, and dare to change. The world is witnessing unprecedented changes, and Hong Kong cannot rely on outdated systems and mechanisms to cope with the new challenges.

The author is a former information coordinator of the HKSAR government and a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.