China has hosted two remarkable international events, the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. These two projects are very important as a symbol of China’s modernization and integration into international society. As a matter of fact, during the years in the run-up to 1997, then member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Stephen Cheong Kam-chuen, had already initiated discussion on the possibility of hosting the World Expo in Hong Kong. 

Unfortunately, Hong Kong was not willing to do so then. There was no problem at all in hosting the Expo based on Hong Kong’s financial resources at that time. The question was whether the Hong Kong government had the courage and whether Hong Kong’s political leaders had the vision to promote it.

Shanghai held the World Expo in 2010 and made it one of the most successful. The Shanghai World Expo had very distinctive iconic buildings, such as the famous British architect Thomas Heatherwick’s UK pavilion, the Seed Cathedral, which made him famous on the international stage. 

ALSO READ: Hong Kong, Shenzhen have potential to be ‘dynamic duo’ of arts-tech industry

The Hong Kong art master Danny Yung cooperated with the Japanese theater master Makoto Sato to produce an interactive performance, Toki (Japanese crested ibis), which was staged in the Japan pavilion. Other pavilions made breakthroughs of their own. 

The World Expo is an international creative brainstorming activity, giving each country the chance to show their creativity and ideas to the world through building a national pavilion. The World Expo is a project full of positive energy, thoughts and ideas.

Hong Kong has enough financial resources to bid to hold the World Expo, and Shenzhen is also attractive enough to draw international attention. We could take technology as the main theme to focus on topics like technology and living, and green technology, which would be in accordance with General Secretary Xi Jinping’s remarks at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China

Why doesn’t Hong Kong host the World Expo? In fact, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that Hong Kong needs to adopt a more proactive approach to promoting the city on the international stage. The most proactive way of promoting Hong Kong internationally is for the city to host the World Expo. 

The biggest advantage of Hong Kong is that there is Shenzhen to the north of Hong Kong and both Shenzhen and Hong Kong need the World Expo. If the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the Shenzhen municipal government jointly hold a Hong Kong and Shenzhen World Expo, it would certainly bring Hong Kong and Shenzhen to the international stage.

The next World Expo will be held by Osaka in 2025. Hong Kong has enough financial resources to bid to hold the World Expo, and Shenzhen is also attractive enough to draw international attention. We could take technology as the main theme to focus on topics like technology and living, and green technology, which would be in accordance with General Secretary Xi Jinping’s remarks at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. 

ALSO READ: Experts call for enhanced Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation

Xi said that China can create a new form of agenda discussion focused on diverse areas such as culture, the safety of the Earth, a community with a shared future for humanity, environmental protection, energy resources and common prosperity. 

Hosting the World Expo would not only serve as an opportunity to showcase China’s technological development to the world, but would also be a chance to invite participation from the world to achieve a community with a shared future for humanity together.

Hong Kong is financially competent enough to hold the World Expo. I believe that the resources planned for land reclamation from the sea would have more potential for economic development if invested in hosting the World Expo. 

For example, the entire Lok Ma Chau Loop area could be used as the location to build a “World Expo Park” on the border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The whole theme of the World Expo could be developed in the Lok Ma Chau Loop. This would accelerate the development of the area, and we could also use the opportunity to develop the Northeast New Territories and design some brand-new towns. This is a real possibility for stepping onto the world stage.

Can events like seminars and conferences alone bring Hong Kong back onto the international stage? The Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament is only about pleasing the West, but pleasing the West is not about stepping onto the world stage. 

ALSO READ: Hong Kong, Shenzhen deepen ties with four new agreements

Hong Kong SAR government officials must understand that it is naive to assume that these activities mark a return to the international stage if they only have the UK and the US as their targets. As the world is now more multipolarized, it is no longer the same situation it was in prior to 1997 when the UK and the US were dominant on the world stage. Therefore, Hong Kong should keep pace with the changing times.

The proposals put forward at the 20th CPC National Congress are important concerns for the future of mankind. If the Shenzhen municipal government and the Hong Kong SAR government work together, the goal can be achieved much faster. 

So what should we do? Should moves to deal with the bid for hosting the World Expo be led by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau? Or should the financial secretary take the lead and organize a working group with the deputy mayor of Shenzhen to conduct discussions and studies? Or should it be handled at a higher level: the mayor of Shenzhen and the chief executive of Hong Kong could co-lead and form a special working group to deal with the bid. 

The objective of this special working group would be for Hong Kong and Shenzhen to submit the bid to host the World Expo instead of merely studying whether to bid or not. I believe the chance of making a successful bid is very high. If the cities of Shenzhen and Hong Kong are able to combine their efforts in the process, the attraction is limitless. 

We could also take this opportunity to promote exchange and cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. In the future, it is inevitable that Hong Kong and Shenzhen will evolve into the Shenzhen-Hong Kong megacity. Through cooperation in hosting the World Expo, this megacity would be realized.

READ MORE: HK eyes 'new economy' to boost Shenzhen-HK cooperation

There would be so many advantages to hosting the World Expo, because it would not only be truly a world project, but also an opportunity to showcase Hong Kong’s international vision to the world. Hong Kong is not only a financial center, but also an international supermetropolis with an international cultural vision, which is capable of telling China’s story and Hong Kong’s story well.

The author is a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and artistic director of Zuni Icosahedron.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.