Straight Talk presenter Eugene Chan (left) interviews Commissioner for Belt and Road Nicholas Ho on TVB, on Jan 16, 2024. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Commissioner for Belt and Road Nicholas Ho is on the show this week.

Ho tells us what his office has been doing and why the Belt and Road Initiative is important not just to the country but also to Hong Kong as well.

Check out the full transcript of TVB’s Straight Talk host Dr Eugene Chan’s interview with Nicholas Ho:

Chan: Good evening! I'm Eugene Chan. And welcome to Straight Talk, where we bring you a diverse range of stories and interviews on issues that shape and impact Hong Kong. Tonight, we will be talking about the Belt and Road Initiative to find out what's in it for Hong Kong. To help us explore this, we have invited Nicholas Ho Lik-chi, our new Commissioner for Belt and Road. Before joining the government, Ho was a registered architect and had held senior positions in an international architectural practice for the past 10 years. He was appointed chair of the firm in 2020 and has led a number of Belt and Road related projects, involving the development of smart cities and green building construction. Welcome, Nicholas!

Ho: Thank you, Eugene, for having me.

Chan: As the commissioner, I'm sure the viewers want to know about this term, Belt and Road, from you. I think many people have heard about this term for the last, I think, nearly 10 years. Maybe this is a good chance for you to give us a snapshot of what actually the Belt and Road initiative is and what the objectives are?

Ho: Absolutely. So as you know, the Belt and Road initiative reached its 10th year anniversary recently, and in the past 10 years, it has grown from a 60-member partnership into a more than 150 countries international collaboration platform. The goal is surrounding five concepts, which is to build connectivity, on policy, on infrastructure, on trade, finance, and people to people bond. And this connectivity will help reduce poverty and will help unlock regional economic potential. So, in the past 10 years on a national strategy perspective, over $380 billion has been invested in more than 2,000 projects in close to 200 countries to build these connectivity, whether it is physical infrastructure, education, medical, health, or policy connectivity with different regional stakeholders. Hong Kong, in the past 10 years, have been actively participating in the initiative. For example, on the policy perspective, Hong Kong has signed an MOU with the National Development and Reform Commission, outlining how Hong Kong can advance our participation and our contribution in the initiative back in 2017.

Chan: What is the NDRC?

Ho: The National Development Reform Commission, and the Belt and Road initiatives going forward, we have different sorts of elements that we want Hong Kong to better participate in.

Chan: So, Commissioner, so far you have given us a brief outline of from 16 countries to like 160 countries. And I remember reading in newspapers and I'm sure the viewers do as well: the Belt and Road we see two lines of directions of sort of mapping of where this whole thing is going. Can you just remind us where? What do they mean by Belt and Road?

Ho: Absolutely. So, the belt which is the one belt, it starts off into Central Asia, Mongolia, all the way to … the terrestrial, the land route, the one belt goes all the way to Europe, and proceed with the Maritime Silk Road, which is one road that goes all the way down to ASEAN to the Middle East, Africa and also Latin America. So, the vision of One Belt, One Road or Belt and Road Initiative is to build connectivity, but the common denominator is people, people-centric development. So, every single project whether it is building a high speed railway, or building schools or educational institutions, it's all about serving people's needs and unlocking regional potential that weren't accessible before, without the sort of connectivity and Hong Kong's role, it will be very much about servicing these projects, it is about Hong Kong, exporting our professional services, Hong Kong as the international financial hub. About how we can better serve these projects to make sure they are bankable and sustainable and also it's a sort of education hub to bring people together.

Chan: Commissioner, we all know that the SAR government has consistently actually prioritized this Belt and Road initiative and we've established the first office in 2016 as then Mr Leung used to oversee it. There was then the mainland-Hong Kong Belt and Road task group, set up in 2018. And in 2022, under John Lee, this was set up under the integration into the national development, overall situation steering group as we just discussed earlier. You are now the third Belt and Road Commissioner, being appointed only in last September, like four months old. That's the reason why we invited you here. Can you tell us what the specific responsibilities and focus areas are that are within your role after being a third one? This is like the 10th year, it is an important time. What will be your specific role?

Ho: Absolutely. So the office, and my role, is very much about fostering closer policy coordination efforts with the Chinese mainland authorities, with the Belt and Road countries, different Belt and Road members countries and also more importantly, to coordinate and connect with the Hong Kong business communities. Especially the SMEs and the youth of the community, to explain to them what Belt and Road means, and what sort of potential market size and the prospect of the initiative is for the next generation. And we also want to foster closer collaboration and introduce and attract projects from Belt and Road countries, to set up a base here as a regional headquarter to facilitate projects and companies to come to Hong Kong. And more importantly to strengthen our partners across the region – whether it is governments or institutions or private companies – to ensure that Hong Kong remains extremely competitive internationally as the sort of pivot and the hub for the duo circulation, the international business circulation, and the national circulation and Hong Kong sits right between the crossroad of the Belt and Road Initiative and the GBA.

Chan: Right. You are coming from the private market, from the private sector as compared to the last couple of commissioners, who are all from different backgrounds. Have you been able to bring your private sector experience or sort of even good and bad experiences into this job? How have you found so far in four months?

Ho: I've been very humbled to be able to take on this post. The Belt and Road initiative is something that I've been involved with for more than eight years now and it's a subject that I'm very, very passionate about and I think coming from a business perspective, I do understand the challenges and the concern that the business community have as to how better to sort of capture opportunities in these Belt and Road countries. So, in the past four months, we have been tirelessly visiting different business organization chambers and also organize a lot of mega events, including the Belt and Road Summit, hosted back in September last year with more than or close to 6,000 participants, more than 10 governments representative from the Belt and Road countries, with more than 800 business matchings done – the largest scale, most sizeable event Hong Kong has hosted recently. So, I think this post when it was opened, was with the intention of finding someone from the private sector to bridge that gap.

Chan: Nick, you are also a representative of Hong Kong on APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Advisory Council. How do you think that will complement your role as the commissioner?

Ho: Thank you. In my APEC experience, I've learned how to better collaborate and to find common ground to work with our regional partners. And bringing that experience into this new role, I think it's super important because nowadays whether it is from the business sector, or the SME, or the youth sector, when we talk about international now, it's often not just the traditional international markets that we normally think of. But now when people think of international opportunities and international markets, they will start thinking about emerging markets, and most of these markets are in the Belt and Road initiative.

Chan: And one very important thing that I'm sure the viewers want to know, the government has a lot of things on its plate, like you said: integration, international development. The overall situation … steering group … it is not just Belt and Road, we have the GBA, the 14th five-year-plan, and also now with the Belt and Road Initiative, and we have a lot of things about the economic challenges with Hong Kong at the moment. You've been there for four months. How much priority or how much emphasis do you personally view the current government is putting on the Belt and Road?

Ho: Well, I personally feel the focus is very, very high because this is a national strategy, a very visionary approach to a new form of international collaboration. I would say across all government bureaus and departments, the Belt and Road initiative takes a very prioritized role in the way that we approach international markets or help forming policies as well. And you know we've been very lucky that the sort of team spirit within the government is very strong. And we've been working very closely with all government departments to serve the eight new directives of the Belt and Road initiative as announced by President Xi Jinping back in October last year, whether it is in culture, education, or in trade or finance, or in sustainability or technology innovation, the whole government approach to work on the Belt and Road initiative has never been stronger. 

Chan: Alright, let's take a break now and viewers stay tuned. We will see you right back here on Straight Talk in just a few moments.

Commissioner for Belt and Road Nicholas Ho attends the Straight Talk show on TVB, on Jan 16, 2024. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Chan: Thank you for staying with us. Nicholas Ho is on the show this evening, and he has been talking to us about the Belt and Road Initiative, and how Hong Kong has been participating and contributing to it. 

So, Commissioner, in the first half you had said very clearly that we have from 16 countries now to over 150 countries with the ‘Belt’ and also the ‘Road’, sea road route as well. So, it is expanding very widely, and it’s mainly about people, eight initiatives – all the things you have mentioned so far. And you've been our third commissioner, being there for 4 months. I want to ask you a very direct question: has Hong Kong’s Belt and Road Office done what it is supposed to do in the last few terms?

Ho: Are we engaged or are we delivering what the CE wants us to do? Absolutely. So, I believe since the opening of the office till now, the office has been delivering and greatly participating, whether it is policy coordination or engaging with the community. However, it's been very unlucky because of COVID, Belt and Road initiative, we can't interact with our stakeholders in the region because of the travel restrictions. So, now the COVID (restrictions) have been lifted, the borders are reopened since a year ago, we will better participate and go out there.

Chan: Right. You know with the current government, John Lee, who was here a few months ago, he always mentioned the word KPI – key performing index. What will be your KPI in your term? I mean you have a three-year term, right?

Ho: Correct.

Chan: What will be the KPI?

Ho: I think, as a policy coordination office, our KPI is the whole government approach on the Belt and Road Initiative. So, what we want is to better create these regional policies that can help open up Hong Kong and strengthen Hong Kong's role as the international hub for business. So, the policy coordination we want to do more. And in terms of bringing Hong Kong companies, especially SMEs and youth into the Belt and Road market into these countries, and also bringing companies and these government officials or institution into Hong Kong. That would be a collaborative effort among our government colleagues.

Chan: Right. Nick, you mentioned earlier in the first half that we had the 10th anniversary in August last year and Hong Kong office actually published a special commemorative booklets, featuring like 26 different individuals. One of them was my good friend, Professor Emily Chan.

Ho: Yes.

Chan: And she is the CEO of the GX Foundation, she was here a few months ago, and we talked about health and humanitarian assistance. Very good nice stories. After you read all those stories, I am sure you will be part of that as well, what other achievement can you highlight for us that Hong Kong people, specifically, has contributed at least, I mean it is difficult for 3 years, but I think we have done some work, what any stories that you like to share with us?

Ho: Absolutely. So, Hong Kong companies have been participating in the Belt and Road actively in the past 10 years, whether it is professional services like architects, surveyors, engineers, building and designing, large scale cities or smart building projects, in ASEAN or in the Middle East, whether it is equestrian or whether it is smart buildings, or it is smart city design, Hong Kong manufacturers have greatly participated in the ASEAN manufacturing success story. And also technology companies or ports, logistics companies, have been very active in the region in the past. But going forward, what we see, there is 2 big themes, and we are already seeing success. One theme is green development, the other is digital economy. Hong Kong, we are very lucky because in the past 10 years, our collaborative effort, whether it is public or private, have created a very mature economic ecosystem in both green and digital. So, to give you a brief example, there is a Hong Kong start-up company, very small, from Hong Kong Science Park, and they helped that start-up company which is in blue economy to get a pilot project in Hong Kong, 3D printing corals. And then it got on an international media coverage, and someone from Middle East saw it on TV. And that someone turns out to be the head of an institutional investment platform in Abu Dhabi. And they brought her over, and then she is now having a lot of contracts, having both a manufacturing arm and office in UAE while having a research and office arm in Hong Kong. 

Chan: Right. You just mentioned sort of a green and sort of digital work. But how about our traditional strength? Our financial services and also our real estate sector, especially with buildings Hong Kong has been so well known for all these infrastructures. Do we have any role to play?

Ho: Absolutely. I can tell you the Hong Kong property development and investment and professionals in the construction industry, that sort of talent and experience are very well sought after in emerging markets, especially in the Middle East. For example, in Saudi Arabia, with their 2030 Vision Plan, there is a lot of signature projects, whether it is the NEOM, Qiddia, or Red Sea, these projects, a lot of them actually are working closely with the Hong Kong professionals, using our expertise and our forward thinking, our future ready design solutions into their projects. So, to answer your question, the Hong Kong brand is very much well respected and well recognized globally. But for us, we must have enough support, enough facilitation, to help our professional services to go outside and achieve this success. And at the same time, bring in these companies in Hong Kong to use our financial platform, that is why binging regional projects and regional companies to set up a base in Hong Kong, whether it is a headquarter or a fundraising entity in Hong Kong, that would greatly benefit them and us.

Commissioner for Belt and Road Nicholas Ho (right) attends the Straight Talk show on TVB, on Jan 16, 2024. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Chan: Yes, I can see now from what you are saying, it is sort of interlinking things together, helping Hong Kong to sustain or maintain, or even improving more as an international financial center. Let’s be more specific now. The whole world, especially Hong Kong, after the pandemic, has been very different, the recovery has been very slow. And we have more so-called increasing business challenges with traditional markets because of the geopolitical factors. See, Hong Kong has been, I think, being part of this program, is to help mainland companies to go global. So, with all those things I have mentioned, slowing economy, geopolitics which is a big thing at the moment, how can Hong Kong do this role of assisting mainland going global?

Ho: Absolutely. All the challenges that you mentioned are very real, and we can see that they will continue for a while. But when we work with our regional partners and talk to them, the clear solution out of this challenging environment is by collaboration. And the Belt and Road Initiative is the largest international collaboration that is inclusive, and that it wants to work with everyone. So, to answer your question, to capture the new emerging markets in the Belt and Road Initiative, Hong Kong acts as the perfect super connector and the super value-adder. We are seeing a lot of mainland companies, whether they are state-own or they are private companies, whether they are in traditional business or in innovation or in sustainability, they are coming to Hong Kong, setting up a base here, and then together we are going out to these Belt and Road markets together with them and capture opportunities.

Chan: Right. Commissioner, so far, can I say that with the Belt and Road Initiative, Hong Kong is kind of in its infancy stage, I mean there is still a long way to go?

Ho: Absolutely.

Chan: The reason why I brought this up is that I remember I was in involved in the professional sector, and as the president of the Association of Hong Kong Professional, I've talked to a lot of younger generation professionals, or even more senior guys. They have never been very keen about going outside of Hong Kong. For example, even talking about the GBA, talking about even further back the CEPA, they are very lukewarm, the term I would use. So, how are you going to encourage or sort of motivate professionals to go there? It is even further away.

Ho: Absolutely. And that is the mission and that is the target audience, it is the community at large. I think for us, the message of going out is as important as bringing in.

Chan: Right.

Ho: So, to educate the community at large and to really explain and to create awareness about this new economic engine called Belt and Road Initiative, we want to start off with something softer. So people to people bond on culture, on arts, on F&B, on tourism. These sort of lighter touch will help create awareness, and will help let the general public know that it is a large market, whether it is inbound tourism or outbound trade.

Chan: But how do you feel about the young professionals? Are they keen to go?

Ho: Absolutely. I think, in my perspective, as a professional myself, I do believe that going out and the international spirit of Hong Kong people – that is our DNA. And when I go out, I see a lot of professionals taking government funding support schemes, going out. And governments’ role is to create this sort of a lubricant, if you will, this sort of support system that can help them lower the threshold of going out to these Belt and Road markets. So, we have many support schemes for SMEs.

Chan: Right. Nick, you mentioned earlier that Hong Kong brand is very important. But given what has been happening, there is actually a smearing campaign going on against Hong Kong, and people are saying Hong Kong is no longer an international city, it is just one of the Chinese cities. Do you see that affecting your work when you talk to your potential client or customers of the Belt and Road Initiative? Do you feel that at all?

Ho: I think you are absolutely right. There is a smear campaign going on outside. Fortunately, within the Belt and Road community, a lot of those countries and partners, they understand Hong Kong's real condition and real situation. But what's more important is going out and telling the Hong Kong story accurately and repeatedly because it is not just about the truth about Hong Kong, it is the work that we have been doing in the past few years. Hong Kong is not just an international city, we have a lot of new developments, new initiatives, new institutions. For example, arts, we have West Kowloon; for example, the finance exchange, we have Chapter 18, 18A, B, C; for example, sustainable green financing innovation. We have a lot of new things. But our regional partners, because of the COVID restrictions back then, they didn’t understand that Hong Kong in the past 5 years, we didn’t stop, we have been continuously and committed to reinvent ourselves to be the leader and pioneer of new economy. So, I think that is a very important message.

Chan: Right. I am afraid that is all the time we have, and we shall leave the discussion here. And thank you, Mr Ho, for being on the show this evening. And as Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations said, “The Belt and Road Initiative is a transformative vision, it has the potential to create a new paradigm for inclusive and sustainable development in the 21st century.” Despite huge challenges, Hong Kong people will persist with their Lion Rock Spirit, using our distinct advantages to be a super connector in this Initiative for all our benefit. Have a good evening and see you next week!