Opinion | Why Hong Kong telling world’s story to China is just as important

It is often said that Hong Kong must help tell China’s story to the world. However, Hong Kong must also tell the world’s story to Beijing.

This means providing Beijing with a more accurate and complete picture of the international community’s reception of the country – both the good and the bad. It also means pushing back against staid nationalistic narratives and oversimplifications overstating China’s strengths and brushing over its weaknesses.

With an increasingly tense international environment, fraught relations with its neighbours and a growing trend towards decoupling and securitisation in global supply chains, Beijing is doubling down on national security across many fronts, including defence and digital technologies.

Yet the mainland and Hong Kong remain fundamentally different because of the “one country, two systems” principle, which President Xi Jinping pledged would continue past 2047 during his visit to Hong Kong in 2022. As Beijing reorients itself to deepen ties with and further open up to global businesses, Hong Kong must steer clear of parochialist tendencies and embrace genuine internationalism.

What does it mean in terms of concrete policies? First, Hong Kong should aspire to become the hub of migration and human capital for southern China, massively scaling up its efforts to attract talented people to settle in the city and eventually become permanent residents.