Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu went to Beijing on Dec 11 to report to President Xi Jinping on the current situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the work of the SAR government. Xi fully affirmed the work of Lee and the SAR government over the past year, stating that Lee had led it in a responsible, pragmatic and enterprising manner.
Xi specifically acknowledged that the SAR government had completed the historic legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, focused on economic development, devised solutions to solve issues with housing and healthcare, strengthened external exchanges and cooperation, and enhanced Hong Kong’s international influence, thereby further consolidating the city’s momentum of stability and development.
This rating is akin to, or even a bit higher than, Xi’s ratings of Lee and the SAR government’s work in the past two years. Xi specifically underlined Lee’s and the SAR government’s sense of responsibility and commitment toward the country and the SAR. As the country and the SAR are encountering an increasingly complex international situation as well as attacks and containment by the United States and its allies, the central government naturally attaches great importance to the political qualities of the SAR’s leaders, who are expected to take the initiative and demonstrate boldness in accomplishing crucial tasks for the country and the city.
In this context, the central government particularly appreciates that the SAR government has finally completed legislative work on Article 23 by enacting the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, a law aimed at preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for acts that endanger national security, 26 years after Hong Kong returned to its motherland.
The law has further strengthened Hong Kong’s ability to safeguard national security, allowing the “one country, two systems” principle and the Basic Law to be fully and accurately implemented. Moreover, it enables Hong Kong to improve governance efficiency and promote economic development and people’s livelihoods amid political and social stability.
Xi mentioned that Hong Kong should strengthen external exchanges and cooperation, which will not only enhance its international influence but also further consolidate the city’s steady and stable development. This shows that the central government clearly understands that the attacks on and containment of Hong Kong by the US and its allies have, to a certain extent, compressed Hong Kong’s international development space and weakened its development foundation.
At the same time, the global economy is still in a weak state. The protectionism and unilateralism of the US and its allies, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and conflicts in the Middle East have hindered the recovery of global trade and the economies of many countries, particularly some of Hong Kong’s trading partners. The central government fully understands that Hong Kong is in a difficult economic period and hopes that the SAR can work hard to expand its international economic space and strive for more markets and development opportunities. In the past two years, the SAR government and all sectors of society have made continuous efforts to develop ties with developing countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, mainly in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and to attract their enterprises, funds and talent to come to Hong Kong, thereby consolidating the city’s long-term basis for economic development.
Only in this way can Hong Kong’s development foundation be consolidated, the advantages of the “one country, two systems” principle be fully brought into play, and the city’s unique advantages become a lasting driving force for development. The central government will unswervingly provide guidance, support and cooperation in reform and innovation. Still, Hong Kong must also focus on the overall situation of national development, security, and interests to better integrate the country’s and its own development trajectories
Chinese mainland enterprises have also “gone global” more energetically. They are making more use of the financial and professional services provided by Hong Kong due to the expansion of its international economic space.
By increasing cultural and people-to-people exchanges with more non-Western countries, Hong Kong has disseminated Chinese culture more widely overseas, thereby enhancing the country and the SAR’s soft power. Xi appreciated all these efforts of Hong Kong.
Of course, the central government knows that the economic difficulties faced by Hong Kong and the financial problems this has triggered for the SAR government cannot be rectified in the short term. Therefore, the SAR government and all sectors of Hong Kong society must work together and continue to deepen the reform and innovation of institutions and policies. Xi called on the SAR government and all sectors of Hong Kong society to look at issues from a long-term and strategic perspective and formulate long-term development strategies to cope with them. As long as the long-term development strategy is correct and recognized by all sectors of society, Hong Kong’s long-term economic prospects will remain bright and its residents will have stronger confidence in the government and the city’s future.
This is crucial to maintaining social stability amid economic difficulties. Xi said he hopes that the SAR government can unite all sectors of society to proceed with reform, proactively align with national strategies, and develop new momentum and new competitive edges.
Xi promised to continue to fully support Lee and the SAR government, but at the same time tasked the SAR government with improving its ability to make long-term and strategic plans for Hong Kong’s future development, particularly in developing new industries and economic growth points such as innovation and technology.
Only by doing so can national development strategies and those of Hong Kong be better aligned. Only in this way can Hong Kong make full use of the central government’s favorable policies and measures for the city’s development. Also, only in this way can Hong Kong obtain impetus from the country’s development and make better contributions to national development, especially in supporting the implementation of the BRI, yuan internationalization and mainland enterprises’ overseas expansion.
Specifically, how well Hong Kong participates in the national 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) is an acid test of the SAR’s resolve and capability in ensuring that its long-term development strategy aligns with the national one.
Reform and innovation are the core spirit of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. President Xi certainly hopes these spirits can also become the guiding spirits for Hong Kong’s future development and be fully reflected and practiced in governance, political and social institutions, and economic and industrial structures. The SAR government and all sectors of society must realize that Hong Kong now faces severe challenges from the “great changes unseen in a century”. They must have an insight into the historical situation, recognize and respond to changes, promote reforms in all aspects with innovative thinking, and do things they did not dare to do, could not do, or were unwilling to do in the past to open up new development opportunities and impetus for Hong Kong.
Only in this way can Hong Kong’s development foundation be consolidated, the advantages of the “one country, two systems” principle be fully brought into play, and the city’s unique advantages become a lasting driving force for development. The central government will unswervingly provide guidance, support and cooperation in reform and innovation. Still, Hong Kong must also focus on the overall situation of national development, security, and interests to better integrate the country’s and its own development trajectories.
The author is a professor emeritus of sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a consultant to the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
