Hong Kong must push for best role in Greater Bay Area plan, Chinese commerce chamber chief says
Business leader says the city can’t afford to wait for Beijing to determine its place in regional development scheme and should promote its strong points such as finance, logistics and arbitration
A business leader representing thousands of Hong Kong companies doing business across the border has urged the city to push for suitable roles in planning the Greater Bay Area development, which aims to integrate the city with Macau and nine cities in Guangdong.
Jonathan Choi Koon-sum, chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said the city needed to be proactively involved in the planning process being undertaken by Beijing’s National Development and Planning Commission rather than passively waiting to be given a role.
Choi, who is also a member of the mainland’s top consultative body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said Hong Kong should focus on five areas based on its strengths.
“They include finance, because Hong Kong is already a global finance centre,” he said in an interview with the Post. “Trade and commerce, shipping and logistics – as Hong Kong’s strength is as an entrepot and in arbitration. There will always be a lot of business disputes.
“And Hong Kong’s rule of law is a key strength, as well as innovation talent training, especially with the huge Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park to be built in the Shenzhen River loop.”
