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Opinion | How joining the RCEP can revive Hong Kong’s role as a regional ‘super connector’
- As a member of the mega trade partnership, Hong Kong could serve as a bridge between regional economies – a role it knows well
- Helping to expand trade links across Asia would strengthen the region’s supply chain resilience, while also restoring our city’s ‘international‘ status
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It is no secret that Hong Kong faces an unprecedented, all-round challenge to its role as a global “super connector”. Just two weeks ago, it was reported that four international exhibitions that were previously hosted by the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre will relocate to Singapore and Dubai.
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The public has pointed to the city’s rigid quarantine regime as the cause of our disconnection from the world – and rightfully so. Yet, Hong Kong’s struggles not only stem from the pandemic, but from seismic shifts in the global geopolitical landscape.
The intensifying rivalry between the United States and China has undermined Hong Kong’s geoeconomic standing. In 2020, Washington revoked the city’s special trade status, ending almost three decades of preferential treatment.
If continued, the “great decoupling” of the US and China is likely to further weaken Hong Kong’s ability to act as a bridge between mainland China and the rest of the world. Moreover, as an international financial centre and one of the world’s most open economies, Hong Kong has been sensitive to the crises emerging in the West.
Other than repeated calls for the city to leverage the opportunities provided by mainland China’s development, there has been a dearth of ideas about how we should reconnect with a drastically changed world.
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