Hong Kong is celebrating the silver jubilee of its return to the motherland this July. We can summarize the implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the last 25 years as this: The SAR government and all sectors of local society, under the guidance of the central authorities, successfully defeated a series of attempts by anti-China forces in and outside Hong Kong to seize the city’s governing power and turn it into an independent political entity, putting the exercise of “one country, two systems” back on the right track.

For starters, Beijing’s original intent for the unprecedented “one country, two systems” concept has been “one country” being the precondition and basis of “two systems”; this intent is reflected in articles of the Basic Law regarding the relationship between the central authorities and the HKSAR. However, because of Hong Kong’s history under British rule, the mainstream view and overall exercise of “one country, two systems” in the first six years of the HKSAR put much emphasis on the difference between “two systems” while overlooking the underpinning importance of “one country”.

After Hong Kong signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with the Chinese mainland in late June 2003, the city began emphasizing “one country” in formulating economic policies while still stressing the differences between “two systems” in political discourse until the National Security Law for Hong Kong was promulgated and implemented in June 2020.

While Hong Kong was increasingly integrated with the Chinese mainland economically, it became more and more aligned with the West ideologically and politically. The political alienation from the motherland finally culminated in the anti-extradition-law movement and the ensuing black-clad riots in 2019. The violent insurrection left Beijing no choice but to exercise its constitutional power to enact the National Security Law for Hong Kong and initiated an overhaul of the HKSAR’s electoral system, which effectively returned Hong Kong from yearlong violence and social unrest to peace and order. That transition also marked the consensus between the HKSAR government and Hong Kong society over the exercise of “one country, two systems”: It’s an unmistakable premise that “one country” precedes “two systems” as the latter’s precondition, which is the only way for Hong Kong to maintain the steady exercise of “one country, two systems” according to its original intent in the long run.

Steady implementation, however, may not be necessarily smooth sailing all the way. The road to renewed prosperity could be a bumpy ride and it will require the SAR government to overcome any obstacles along the way.

The outbreak of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February marked the beginning of a new phase in the paradigm shift in the global power balance, which is characterized by the interweaving of the “New Cold War” and regional “hot war”. The eastward shift of the global power balance has also kicked into high gear.

“Hot war” refers to the ongoing war in Eastern Europe, in which the US-led Western powers are using Ukrainian people as cannon fodder to try to squeeze the security space of the Russian Federation and Belarus, with the intent of crushing Russia. Needless to say Russia will not buckle, leaving the door wide open for protracted military conflict.

Meanwhile, the US has stepped up its “New Cold War” against China, which was officially launched by the previous Trump administration. As a matter of fact, Washington has exhausted all tricks in the bag short of direct military conflict in its attempt to contain China’s rise by ideological, economic and trade, financial, high-tech and diplomatic means.

On May 26, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a speech outlining the Biden administration’s strategy to “out-compete China” in the next decade. He said: “President Biden believes this decade will be decisive. … We will shape the strategic environment around Beijing to advance the vision for an open, inclusive international system.”

Blinken’s remark is indicative of what Hong Kong must do in the next decade if it wants to ensure the successful exercise of “one country, two systems”.

First, Hong Kong must now figure out the worst possible scenario and formulate a set of strategies to cope with it when, or if, Washington steps up its all-around containment campaign against China.

Two scenarios may emerge in the wake of the current Sino-US tensions: The US and China (including Hong Kong) will decouple in the areas of technology and finance while preserving some economic and trade ties; or all bilateral exchanges between the US and China (including Hong Kong) will be severed altogether because of dissensions over Taiwan. The sixth-term SAR government of John Lee Ka-chiu must formulate an emergency response plan for each of the scenarios.

The US and the UK still have influence over Hong Kong because a plethora of Hong Kong residents still dance attendance on both countries, or even covertly pledge allegiance to them because of the legacy of British colonial rule. Hong Kong’s revamped electoral system is intended to prevent the subversives from infiltrating the SAR’s political establishment. However, the hidden proxies cultivated by the West still remain at large, permeating the governing structure and broad sectors of the community. John Lee and his governing team have a heavy responsibility on their shoulders for ensuring patriots are in charge of the SAR and uniting the hearts of the people.

Second, Hong Kong must pick up the pace of integrating its own development into the national development strategy and the national governance system.

That said, containing the COVID-19 pandemic remains the SAR government’s top priority for now, given that the fifth wave of the outbreak, which infected millions of people and claimed thousands of lives, has taken a heavy toll on Hong Kong’s economy and the livelihoods of many. The crux of the city’s struggle against COVID-19 is its failure to treat the fight as an organic part of the nationwide campaign commonly known as the “dynamic zero infection” strategy and chose instead to tread a “middle path” between the national strategy and the West’s “living with the virus” approach until the SAR government had to seek once again all-around assistance from the central authorities and mainland professional entities.

Hong Kong now must pull out all the stops to carry through the nation’s “dynamic zero infection” strategy, as it is a crucial step for Hong Kong to dovetail to the overall development of the country.

The author is a senior research fellow of China Everbright Holdings.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.