Hong Kong’s hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministerial Meeting 2026 last month had significance beyond the speeches, official photographs and discussions. It put the city’s role as a regional and global financial hub on display. But the real test is whether that visibility can translate into lasting benefits for Hong Kong residents.
As the hosting city, Hong Kong had a good opportunity to showcase its infrastructure, international connections and financial expertise. The city’s robust professional services, common law system and concentration of banks and investment firms make it well suited to international economic discussions. Hosting the meeting thus connected the city’s established financial strengths with an important regional policy forum.
Hong Kong facilitates global flows of capital, information, people and services. Its numerous accountants, lawyers, consultants, fund managers and bankers provide the specialist knowledge required for complex economic activity. The gathering of regional finance chiefs offered an opportunity to connect that expertise with regional policy discussions and demonstrated the value of the city’s financial and professional networks.
The meeting also highlighted Hong Kong’s role as a gateway. For decades, the city has connected the Chinese mainland with global markets, channeling foreign capital into the mainland and helping mainland businesses reach international investors. Its open capital markets, banking system and professional services support this intermediary function. Hosting the meeting also gave the city a chance to show its continued ability to connect different economic systems and business communities.
This role matters amid global economic uncertainty and competition among Asian financial centers. Hong Kong cannot assume that investment, corporate headquarters, financial institutions or international conferences will continue to come its way. The high-profile regional meeting helped the city a lot in attracting attention and presenting itself as a place where governments and businesses can engage. Its value ultimately depends on what follows.
Hong Kong’s participation in APEC has huge economic significance. It gives the city a platform to demonstrate its international economic relevance as a special administrative region of China. The meeting illustrated how Hong Kong can maintain a distinctive place in international economic networks as a superconnector bridging the mainland and the rest of the world.
This role is one of Hong Kong’s greatest strengths. The city combines close economic ties to the mainland with deep connections to international finance and markets. Its future success will depend on maintaining and even strengthening this role. Hong Kong must remain open and internationally credible while benefiting from closer integration into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the wider mainland economy. Integration and international openness should reinforce each other.
There are practical opportunities, too. The meeting’s agenda included fiscal policies supporting households, digital infrastructure financing and wider access to financial services, with a policy statement on financing digital infrastructure being adopted. These subjects provide a more concrete basis for assessing the event than prestige alone. Although a single conference cannot transform an economy, discussions held during the conference and the ties it fostered could inform investment decisions and future regional initiatives. For Hong Kong, follow-through should include better access to finance for small businesses and training that helps local workers benefit from digital investment.
The event helped strengthen Hong Kong’s international reputation. Cities compete not only through tax policies and transport systems but also through how they are perceived. The well-run meeting presented Hong Kong as a city that is efficient, well-connected and capable of managing complex international events. That could help attract more organizations, firms, conferences and skilled workers to the city. Such visibility creates economic opportunity.
However, international recognition is not the same as shared prosperity. We must ask who benefits from global connectivity and who may be left behind. Hong Kong’s finance-led economy generates considerable wealth, but its benefits are unevenly distributed. Housing affordability, wealth inequality and employment security must remain part of the discussion. An international finance meeting may enhance the city’s reputation, but it does not automatically improve residents’ livelihoods. Success should also be judged by the opportunities available beyond the financial sector.
The question of dependence also matters. Hong Kong’s international importance is closely tied to global capital flows and financial intermediation. These create opportunities but also expose the city to external shocks. Financial crises, geopolitical conflict, regulatory changes and competition can reshape its economic prospects. Diversifying the economy is therefore important. The Northern Metropolis, with its emphasis on innovation and technology, including artificial intelligence, could help broaden the economic base. But that potential should be judged by viable businesses, productive investment and employment opportunities for residents, rather than the scale of development alone.
Hosting the APEC Finance Ministerial Meeting was an opportunity. It gave Hong Kong a platform to demonstrate its place in regional and international economic networks. Yet its significance should not be measured only by prestige or the number of visitors. The more important question is whether the city can convert international visibility into stronger cooperation, new investment, better opportunities for local businesses and workers, and more inclusive growth. The meeting matters most if its benefits extend beyond the conference room.
Naubahar Sharif is a professor of public policy and head of the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies at the Education University of Hong Kong. Li Chen is an assistant professor in the same department.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
