At the Greater Bay Area Conference 2023 last Wednesday, themed “When GBA Meets ASEAN — One Heart and One Mind”, co-hosted by China Daily and the Hong Kong Coalition, hundreds of government officials, business leaders and academics from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and some Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries shared their views on Hong Kong’s role in connecting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and ASEAN. I was honored to be invited to attend the conference and hear the thoughtful views expressed by the prominent guest speakers and panelists on how Hong Kong can further drive GBA-ASEAN ties.
Leung Chun-ying, a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, highlighted in his keynote speech that Hong Kong can serve as a “superconnector” linking the GBA and ASEAN countries, and Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee Ka-chiu mentioned that the HKSAR is a “super value-adder” for ASEAN and other countries along the Belt and Road. Panelists also shared their insights on green financing, green technology and sustainable tourism between the GBA and ASEAN — the world’s two fastest-growing economic blocs.
Since the United States has launched a trade war against China, and hostile US politicians have attempted to impose more sanctions on HKSAR officials, it makes sense for the country and the HKSAR to further foster economic ties with ASEAN. ASEAN is now Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner after the mainland. Based on the HKSAR government’s statistics, Hong Kong and ASEAN trade reached an all-time high of $165 billion last year, accounting for almost 14 percent of the HKSAR’s total trade with the world. ASEAN nations, including Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, have also been among the top 10 trading partners of Hong Kong. The HKSAR’s pursuit of closer ties with ASEAN will not only inject a strong impetus into local economic growth, but will also mitigate ever-changing challenges amid rising geopolitical rivalry globally. At the same time, the fast-growing GBA offers tremendous business opportunities for ASEAN nations. With unparalleled connectivity to the GBA market, Hong Kong is apparently well-positioned to serve as a gateway to facilitate enterprises in ASEAN countries to tap into the growing market in the bay area.
Also, there is huge potential for Hong Kong to foster tourism development with ASEAN countries. There has been a surge in inbound visitors to Hong Kong from ASEAN countries since the scrapping of COVID-19-related travel restrictions. Based on the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s latest statistics, tourist arrivals reached over 23.3 million in the first nine months of this year, with Chinese mainland visitors accounting for more than 70 percent. Tourist arrivals from the Philippines and Thailand reached over 474,000 and 280,000 respectively during this period, which is much higher than that from Japan and some Western countries. While Japan and South Korea remain Hong Kong tourists’ favored destinations, the tourism industry can promote Southeast Asian markets, including Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, to Hong Kong residents to strengthen ties between the city and Southeast Asian countries.
Hong Kong and ASEAN countries have a long history of business connections in the past decades. As economic headwinds blow in Asia, it is important for Hong Kong to forge stronger economic ties with ASEAN countries as well as closer connection between the GBA and the Southeast Asian bloc
China is one of ASEAN’s largest sources of visitors. ASEAN nations, including Laos, have strived to woo more Chinese visitors. Laos’ tourism authorities expect that the China-Laos Railway, which slashes traveling time between Yunnan province’s Kunming and the Laotian capital of Vientiane, will boost the number of Chinese mainland tourists significantly in a few years. Apart from tourism development, China and ASEAN countries have also forged closer cooperation to preserve and protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In the panel discussion at the GBA conference, Chinese tourism experts shared their experience of protecting one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites — historical rock art painted on cliff faces (known as the Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape) in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, with over 2,000 years of history — in cooperation with tourism officials from Laos and other ASEAN states. Tourism, admiration and preservation of culture and historic artifacts always connect people from different countries. These activities have fostered people-to-people connections between China and ASEAN, thereby deepening friendship and solidarity in the entire region.
In regard to Hong Kong’s effort to recruit global talent, there are compelling economic reasons for the HKSAR government to attract more ASEAN professionals and students to work and study in Hong Kong. With world-class education, Hong Kong is well-poised to attract more Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape students from ASEAN states. As highlighted by the chief executive in his Policy Address last month, the HKSAR government will inject HK$1 billion ($128 million) into the Government Scholarship Fund from the next academic year. This will significantly increase the number of outstanding students from ASEAN and countries along the Belt and Road to pursue their studies with scholarships in the city. ASEAN students who are young, energetic and well-educated can contribute to our city’s economic growth. Hong Kong has no time to lose in trawling for bright students from ASEAN.
As the world’s economic center of gravity moves eastward to China and ASEAN from the West, it is imperative for Hong Kong to capitalize on the robust economic growth in the region. Blessed with the distinctive advantages of a business-friendly environment and robust legal and financial systems, Hong Kong can further strengthen its connecting role in providing high-quality professional services to foster ties between the GBA and ASEAN countries. Hong Kong can leverage its superb professional services in multiple areas, such as architectural design, engineering, infrastructural management, accounting, and legal and financial services. Take green architecture, for example: Hong Kong architects and engineers can share their experience in construction of green buildings and related practices in the GBA and other regions of the country with their counterparts in ASEAN countries.
Above all, Hong Kong’s connection with Southeast Asia and the rest of the world will be further expanded with its early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free trade bloc, consisting of the 10 ASEAN members, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Hong Kong’s early accession would further strengthen its business ties with all RCEP members and elevate mutually rewarding relations to new heights.
Hong Kong and ASEAN countries have a long history of business connections in the past decades. As economic headwinds blow in Asia, it is important for Hong Kong to forge stronger economic ties with ASEAN countries as well as closer connection between the GBA and the Southeast Asian bloc.
The author is a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and founder and chairman of the One Country Two Systems Youth Forum.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
