Hong Kong is committed to working with all member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to drive progress towards shared prosperity through sustainable trade, the city’s commerce chief said on Friday.
“Our collective goal of strengthening sustainable supply chains should never be a trade-off between sustainability and trade, but rather a synergy between the two,” Algernon Yau Ying-wah said while speaking at a session – themed “Prosperity through Sustainable Trade” – of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meeting in Jeju, South Korea.
He said supply chains are the driving force of today's global economy but are also highly sensitive and vulnerable to external shocks.
READ MORE: HK calls for regional AI collaboration to boost trade
The secretary for commerce and economic development stressed that the issue of supply chains has always been an integral part of APEC discussions.
“APEC's role becomes even more important now than ever when cross-border trade and investments and supply chains face uncertainty and unprecedented challenges,” he added.
In his speech, Yau outlined that Hong Kong, as an international shipping and logistics hub, has been implementing various measures to support sustainable supply chains, including "Hong Kong's Climate Action Plan 2050" and a roadmap for sustainability disclosure.
ALSO READ: Yau urges APEC member economies to reaffirm free trade commitment
“In parallel, enabling initiatives have been rolled out to equip micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with the means to manage their environmental footprint and encourage market participants to improve sustainable business practices.”
Funding schemes and capacity-building programs have also been put in place to encourage the adoption of digital technologies by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to facilitate the digital transformation of supply chains, he added.
On the sidelines of the MRT Meeting, Yau held a bilateral meeting with Japanese State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ogushi Masaki to discuss various trade and economic issues.
