The 300-hectare Persian lemon project in Yucatan, Mexico, the Istanbul multi-functional terminal project in Turkey, and the third phase of the Arab-Abu Dhabi LNG plant... Open the HKTDC's "One Belt, One Road" special website, and various projects are presented in a rolling manner. Investors can also click on the project's feasibility study report for details.
From concept to project, from investment to service, the breadth and depth of Hong Kong’s participation in the construction of the “Belt and Road” has continued to expand.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. The central government, relevant departments and local governments have issued a large number of policies to support Hong Kong's development.
The next five years will be a critical period for Hong Kong to create a new situation and achieve a new leap forward. The "Belt and Road" is a promising platform, and now is the time to deeply participate in the construction of the "Belt and Road".
Recently, Hong Kong was once again rated as the world's freest economy by international research institutions, which reflects the recognition of the international community for Hong Kong's excellent business environment.
Hong Kong's status as an international financial, trade and shipping center is not easy to come by. One of the important reasons is that it is backed by the motherland. In the 1960s and 1980s, it followed the trend of economic globalization and grasped the global opportunities for industrial transfer.
Today, the Belt and Road Initiative conforms to the trend of economic globalization, upholds the spirit of open regional cooperation, and is committed to maintaining the global free trade system and an open world economy.
The regions currently participating in the Belt and Road Initiative cover 65% of the world's population and 40% of the total economic output.
From this perspective, Hong Kong is once again faced with huge opportunities for development.
Participating in the "Belt and Road" construction is not an optional question for Hong Kong, but a mandatory question for Hong Kong.
Whether this question can be answered well or not is related to the continuation and improvement of Hong Kong's unique advantages.
All walks of life in Hong Kong, especially the business sector, need to recognize the historical trend and take a more proactive stance to participate in it.
Compared with the previous waves of industrial transfer, Hong Kong has accumulated more advantages today, and can participate in the construction of the "Belt and Road" more calmly, accurately and efficiently.
According to estimates by the International Economics and Strategy Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, during the period from 2016 to 2030, the financing demand for transportation infrastructure in the construction of the “Belt and Road” will reach 2.9 trillion US dollars.
In 2021, the market value of the Hong Kong stock market will exceed US$5.4 trillion, and the asset management scale will exceed US$4.5 trillion, which can provide diversified financing channels for related companies and projects.
As the largest RMB offshore center in the world, Hong Kong can launch a wealth of RMB investment products to facilitate RMB transactions and reduce the exchange rate risk of corporate operations.
Hong Kong's accounting, law, consulting, project management, arbitration and other service industries have been globally recognized, and it is a super "partner" for mainland enterprises to go global.
Judging from the current economic situation, Hong Kong urgently needs to find a new engine for development.
Statistics show that Hong Kong’s GDP grew negatively in the first half of the year. In the first seven months of this year, the value of overall merchandise exports fell by 1.0% year-on-year, while the value of merchandise imports increased slightly by 0.2%.
In terms of employment, from May to July this year, there were a total of 168,200 unemployed people in Hong Kong.
As an urban economy, Hong Kong does not have enough space to move around, and the adjustment of the industrial structure cannot be achieved in a short time. To solve the problem of economic downturn, we must practice our internal skills and look outward.
Taking overseas economic and trade cooperation zones as an example, by the end of 2021, the mainland has built 79 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in 24 countries along the “Belt and Road”, with a cumulative investment of US$43 billion, creating 346,000 local jobs.
The Ministry of Commerce clearly supports Hong Kong's participation in the construction of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones. If it can participate more deeply, the investment income and the number of jobs will not be underestimated.
Judging from the general trend of history, it is a must-answer question. Judging from the urgency of reality, it is a rush to answer the question. Judging from its own conditions, there is no reason to answer the question poorly. This is the significance of participating in the construction of the “Belt and Road” for Hong Kong.
This "examination" is still going on, and we look forward to Hong Kong achieving better results.
(Liu Liang)