Pivot to ASEAN and RCEP for trade hub growth?
China-ASEAN trade
Many ASEAN governments and companies have a long presence in the city. They are familiar and comfortable with each other. Hong Kong has been learning about these diverse nations, their history, people, and ways of doing business. ASEAN is not a monolithic entity - it groups 10 different countries at varying stages of economic development. Hong Kong's engagement with rules-based commercial transactions in Europe or America was well structured. That is not a template for ASEAN.
The large resident population of Philippine and Indonesian domestic workers affect local attitudes and assumptions about these two countries, which can be unhelpful in commercial trade. Hong Kong's institutions teach more the United States' and European history and literature than Asian history, literature, and languages. Hong Kong executives and graduates need to be better equipped to operate effectively in ASEAN. All the major economic growth of the 21st century will be in Asia, not Europe or the US.
