On Wednesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu delivered his latest Policy Address (PA) in the legislature, detailing his plans for the city’s economy.

He vowed to focus on macroeconomic development by attracting more talent to Hong Kong, while also drawing more investment to the city from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Middle East with measures that include the launch of exchange-traded funds that will track Hong Kong stock indexes in Gulf countries and encourage firms from those countries to list in the city.

Overall, we might understand the vision implemented by Lee as one geared at shoring up and expanding Hong Kong’s role as an international financial center, one which seeks to maximize its advantages in the current unfavorable global strategic climate.

As I have repeatedly stated, the year 2024 has been an effective “starting point” for the recuperation of the Hong Kong economy. Over the past five or so years, the city was hit by a wave of crises, which proved economically disruptive. First, we had the riots in 2019-20, which were coupled with US interference in the city’s affairs. Then on top of that came the COVID-19 pandemic, which mandated quarantine controls up until 2023, coupled with economic headwinds from the Chinese mainland.

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In late 2024, the pandemic has long gone, political stability has been restored to the city, international tourism has recovered, and the Chinese mainland is putting up stronger financial support, all of which have created an opening for a sustained economic recovery in Hong Kong.

Thus, Lee’s PA is understood by commentators as the first that is able to focus on economic fundamentals, and that is what he is setting out to do.

An unspoken yet undeniable theme of Lee’s policy vision is that the strategic direction of Hong Kong has undoubtedly changed, which is behind his pivot to integrate with new markets. The United States has long been waging a campaign to undermine the city as a global financial center and hub of global investment. This has included pushing a narrative that the city is “unsafe” and has “risks” to do business, namely through cynical US business advisories and negative press coverage frequently proclaiming “the end” of the city, but also attempting to undermine the city’s engagement with America through smearing Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices and seeking to shutter them.

While Hong Kong has again been ranked  as the third global financial center, the broader geopolitical climate and the US push to contain China is fraught with risks for the city. As a result, it is the imperative for Hong Kong’s leadership to diversify its economic ties and integrate itself more broadly with emerging markets in countries that are not geopolitically hostile to Beijing. Lee has correctly identified ASEAN states, which are Hong Kong’s neighbors, and the Arab Gulf states as the most suitable destinations. ASEAN in particular constitutes some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, which require access to capital, while Arab Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait are seeking to invest their sovereign wealth funds to diversify their economic portfolios for a post-oil future.

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Part of this readjustment, as stated in the PA, is also making it easier for people from these countries to live, work and study in Hong Kong, and thus visa rules have been relaxed for nationals of Laos and Cambodia (coinciding with Lee’s recent visits to these countries). For those from the Middle East, this has included a pledge to create more Arabic-language material in the city, guides for halal restaurants, and so on. These policies have combined with more overseas talent acquisition programs, the extension of visa durations for nonpermanent residents, and making it easier for firms to recruit people of certain professions and skill sets.

Far from the city being “dead”, the policy ambitions of the city’s chief executive shows Hong Kong is still very much in the game. The city has a vision to ratchet up a gear in its economic development, one which involves not a negation of, but a pivot away from, the West-centric role of its history. It has emerged from a tough five years to consider a full range of opportunities, showing that it is a truly global-minded city rather than an outpost of Western interests.

The author is a British political and international-relations analyst.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.