Hong Kong eyes closer economic ties with Southeast Asia during Apec summit

Chief Executive John Lee has met leaders such as Singapore’s Lawrence Wong, Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim and Vietnam’s Luong Cuong

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Chief Executive John Lee (left) and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:30pm, 16 Nov 2024Updated: 5:14pm, 16 Nov 2024

Hong Kong is seeking to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries, with the chief executive meeting leaders from Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Peru.

City leader John Lee Ka-chiu on Friday morning (local time) in the Peruvian capital of Lima also met representatives of countries including Chile, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia at an informal Apec dialogue session.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in his meeting with Lee that the city state and Hong Kong had a long-standing relationship that benefited from mutual learning.

Wong added he hoped both economies could strengthen cooperation and build stronger ties, highlighting the two cities had “many things in common”.

Lee also congratulated Wong on his new role and said the relationship between both sides would reach new heights under his leadership.

The chief executive also thanked Singapore in a social media post for supporting Hong Kong’s application to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s biggest free-trade agreement.

Hong Kong applied to join RCEP in January 2022 and its request is currently under review.