The wave of "Industry 4.0" is currently sweeping across the globe. Being a major metropolis with the freest economy in the world and once a leading industrial city, Hong Kong is on a mission to achieve reindustrialization through the promotion of Industry 4.0. Of course, it will be an unprecedentedly arduous task for Hong Kong, a place that has undergone complete deindustrialization over recent decades. Whether Hong Kong can make it will determine its future.

At present, competition in the core technologies of smart manufacturing is intensifying on a global scale. The Chinese mainland is rapidly developing smart manufacturing and has gained an obvious advantage in the cost of materials, human resources and labor. Against this backdrop, Hong Kong may face hurdles such as patent restrictions, dependence on external technology, etc. Thus, there is not much time left for Hong Kong to jump on the bandwagon and accelerate the implementation of its Industry 4.0.

Young people of diligence and resolution have to come forward to rescue the future of Hong Kong in this critical moment. Industry 4.0 will provide an exceptional platform and unprecedented opportunities for young people to reshape Hong Kong's economic landscape. They should work together and leverage their talent and wisdom to promote reindustrialization so that Hong Kong can regain its former glory.

Hong Kong was once famous for its industrial sector, with the manufacturing industry being the main driving force of its economy in the 1960s and '70s. Nonetheless, many enterprises relocated their factories to the north after the Chinese mainland adopted the reform and opening-up policy as the businesses sought greater development prospects and wanted to take advantage of the lower production costs there. Furthermore, Hong Kong's overreliance on the tertiary industry as an engine of economic growth has also severely weakened the local manufacturing industry, which continues to shrink at this point in time, accounting for only 2.5 percent of the total employment in Hong Kong. The dominance of real estate and financial industries has also created an imbalanced economic structure, contributing to the widening wealth gap.

The diminishing manufacturing industry has not only resulted in an evident imbalance in industrial structure, but also concealed damages, such as the loss or degradation of labor quality, traditional workmanship, craftsmanship, production expertise, supporting industries, and cooperative opportunities between academia and industrial sector.

Hong Kong has never been short of scientists and business leaders but severely lacks the professional talented workers required for reindustrialization. The success of Hong Kong's Industry 4.0 will largely hinge on the nurturing of adequate amount of professional talents and the revival of the blue-collar working class.

The SAR government has reiterated on various occasions that it will promote reindustrialization and strive to build an all-encompassing policy framework for such a purpose. It has established the Innovation and Technology Bureau to preside over all relevant endeavors and has introduced a number of policies and measures to support reindustrialization. However, local economic development has long relied on capital from the financial and real estate sectors; the acceleration of reindustrialization will inevitably lead to the outflow of speculative capital from the real estate sector. This could trigger a slide in property prices, hurting the interests of existing property owners. In that case, it is unlikely for a universally beneficial Industry 4.0 to be achieved, nor can the interest of young professionals be protected.

To effectively promote Industry 4.0 and reindustrialization in Hong Kong, it is imperative for young professionals to form cooperative groups and organizations and establish themselves through industrial collaboration. Right now, it is imperative that we establish an alliance or association that will help integrate the strengths of young professionals and enhance their professional capacities and experience on one hand, while securing effective supporting measures from the SAR government on the other. Meanwhile, we should institute a systematic and sustainable professional training plan to help turn outstanding youngsters into professional talents, who will be groomed for changing the future of the world by contributing in some key areas of Industry 4.0.

In retrospect, we will not forget the young professionals who came forward in Hong Kong's golden age of manufacturing in the 1960s and '70s to make great contributions to the development of Hong Kong's economy. When the reform and opening-up policy was introduced on the mainland, they played a significant role again, particularly in the formulation of policies to facilitate the development of a market economy, which has eventually led China to become the second-largest economy in the world. Now young people are expected to play a crucial role again to help Hong Kong regain its former glory.

The author is the president of the Association for Talent and Management Development. This is a translation of an excerpt of his Chinese article published earlier in Hong Kong Commercial Daily.

(HK Edition 08/05/2019 page8)