Tam hopes HK will seek stronger links with the mainland

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen hopes to further strengthen Hong Kong's cooperation with the mainland under national development plans.

The special administrative region government attached great importance to its interaction with the mainland and advanced several cooperation mechanisms during the past five years, according to Tam.

"There are three national-level cooperation frameworks which are very important for our future development. The first is mentioned in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), describing Hong Kong's role in the country's further opening-up. The second is cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, which we have joined actively. And the third is the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development, which was mentioned by Premier Li Keqiang in his government work report," the secretary said.

The 13th Five-Year Plan highlights that the nation will support Hong Kong to consolidate and improve its role as the international financial, shipping and trade center, which Tam said gave a clear orientation and development direction for Hong Kong.

"Besides enhancing our role as the global off-shore yuan hub, becoming an international asset management center is also very important," Tam said.

The Chinese mainland has become the world's second-largest economy and mainland people' wallets are bulging, creating a large market for asset management, he said.

"The need for services on asset allocation and risk management is increasing on the mainland, providing a great chance for us to improve competitiveness in asset management," he added.

"Development on the high-end and high value-added service is another focus of our future work," Tam continued. "Besides the traditional container port business, we should put more resources on high-end services such as insurance and ship-lease industries."

The Belt and Road Initiative has drawn active participation from the whole world, Tam said, expressing Hong Kong's strong willingness to contribute.

As a "super-connector", Hong Kong aspires to make new contributions to the nation's further economic liberalization under the initiative, Tam noted.

"Hong Kong could provide professional services in fundraising and asset management with our rich experience in finance and trade for construction projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. We've also set up an Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to provide a one-stop financing platform," he said.

Hong Kong can help handle legal disputes concerning mainland investors' overseas projects as the city practices common law, as many Western countries do. It is very experienced in settlement of disputes and arbitration, Tam added.

"Besides, we are willing to share experience in railway construction and management to support railway projects along the Belt and Road," he said.

Besides the Belt and Road Initiative, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is another great chance for Hong Kong to grasp, according Tam.

"The bay area enjoys a unique advantage of 'one country, two systems' and we need to take full advantage of it. With all the favorable policies provided by the central government, we shall coordinate and collaborate with Macao and Guangdong to achieve a win-win situation," he said.

Reviewing the achievements Hong Kong has made with central government support, Tam said: "Our GDP has increased over 80 percent since 1997 and the unemployment rate is as low as 3.2 percent. We've be rated as the world's freest economy by the Heritage Foundation for 23 consecutive years."

zhanqianhui@chinadaily.com.cn

(HK Edition 06/29/2017 page4)