Participants at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this week were positive about economic development and prospects of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — a marked shift from their attitude seen in recent years — Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday.
Writing in his weekly blog, Chan said the sustained inflows of international capital into Hong Kong and the improving performance of its financial markets have attracted the attention of senior figures from public institutions as well as the finance and technology sectors, who attended the forum which concluded on Friday.
“They expressed strong interest in Hong Kong’s momentum of stable and improving growth,” he said.
As a “super-connector” and “super value-adder” linking China with the world, the HKSAR is expected to benefit as economies worldwide adjust their strategies to build more diversified and resilient trade and supply-chain partnerships, Chan said.
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Global investors are placing increasing emphasis on sectors like artificial intelligence and biomedicine, racing to identify startups with breakout potential, the finance chief said, adding that the SAR has made solid progress in both areas.
“The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is, therefore, hard for international capital to ignore when seeking investment opportunities,” Chan said. The 11-city cluster has a vibrant innovation and technology sector, multiple top universities, a well-developed manufacturing base, and an active venture capital ecosystem.
Using green transition as an example, Chan said Hong Kong aims to strengthen its position as an international green finance hub by broadening and innovating its range of green financial products, channeling more capital into decarbonization and helping to narrow funding gaps.
This effort, he noted, aligns with the global consensus towards carbon neutrality. Moreover, China’s advances in green energy technology and its vast production capacity are serving as major drivers of the global energy transformation.
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Chan said it was evident at this year’s meeting that participants have shown both enthusiasm and concerns about frontier technologies and their capacity to reshape traditional industries. Discussions centered on how AI can support economic growth, and how societies should respond to the employment challenges it creates.
The prevailing view was that the ability to master and advance innovation and technology has become “a make-or-break factor” in sustaining economic momentum and competitiveness, he said.
Many political and business leaders agreed that “greater efforts are needed to uphold multilateralism and seek solutions through dialogue and cooperation” amid complex global development and governance challenges.
This means, Chan said, Hong Kong must remain highly vigilant to geopolitical risks and strengthen its sense of preparedness.
Meanwhile, he said it’s equally important to capitalize on the country’s push for high-standard two-way opening-up and high-quality development. By making full use of its unique strength in connecting the Chinese mainland with the rest of the world, the HKSAR will create broader space for its own development while contributing to international dialogue and cooperation.
Contact the writer at irisli@chinadailyhk.com
