President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations Stephen Orlins speaks at a discussion at University of Hong Kong on Oct 17, 2023. (XU WEIWEI / CHINA DAILY)

To whatever extent US-China relations improve, Hong Kong will benefit both economically and politically, says President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations Stephen Orlins.  

“Hong Kong had a critical role to play in the middle of this (China-US relations) … since I arrived here in 1972,” he told a gathering held at Research Hub on Institutions of China, University of Hong Kong on Tuesday.

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Hong Kong is a place where there is intermediation between the Chinese mainland and the United States, and it must continue to play this role, Orlins said.

Orlins said he lived in Hong Kong for about 10 years from 1979. He first worked for an American law firm in the city and then for financial services giant Lehman Brothers, where he acted as the president of Lehman Brothers Asia

People can already see an improvement in China-US relations, he said. 

“We're seeing an increase in flights between China and the United States. We're seeing improvements in visa issuance. We've seen … the creation of working groups.”

He said what people are beginning to see is “gradual improvement”, noting that it is not hard to improve upon because it was such a low base.

“What the Hong Kong government should be doing is thinking about how in this slightly improved atmosphere, Hong Kong's relations with the United States can improve,” Orlins added.

 “We need to just set up some way for the president of China and the president of the United States to speak regularly,” he said, adding it would be best in person but “if it can't be in person, then let it be by Zoom”.

He also spoke of his personal experience with Hong Kong, as he reflected on his first visit to the city in 1972 as a Mandarin student from the National Taiwan Normal University. “I lived here both during the colonial era and then after its handover or return to China,” he said.

Orlins said he lived in Hong Kong for about 10 years from 1979. He first worked for an American law firm in the city and then for financial services giant Lehman Brothers, where he acted as the president of Lehman Brothers Asia. 

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“We were the first tenant at the Pacific Place,” he added, referring to one of the city’s landmark office complexes. 

Orlins moved back to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region a year after the 1997 handover, working for the Carlyle Group asset management firm, only to left the city later. 

“We lived here for a number of years, and then in 2005, (I) became president of the National Committee on US-China Relations, where I strongly believe I have given back to the American people and Chinese people in terms of what I'm doing,” he said.