HKPC Supports HK’s Endeavours in I&T, New Industrialisation, Green Development to Foster Belt and Road Cooperation to Usher in a New Golden Decade

(Hong Kong, 19 October 2023) President Xi Jinping announced eight majors steps China will take to support the joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to enter into a new stage of higher-quality and higher-level development, in the keynote speech at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (Forum) held on 18 October.

This has inspired all sectors in Hong Kong. HKSAR Chief Executive Mr John LEE said that Hong Kong has an important role to play in innovation and technology (I&T), and will fully support the eight steps to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, actively integrate into the national development, strengthen economic and trade ties under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), enhance physical connectivity such as transport infrastructure as well as institutional connectivity, promote financial integration, cultural and people-to-people ties, facilitate exchange among young professionals, to deepen Belt and Road cooperation.

The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) will fully support HKSAR Government in leveraging Hong Kong’s unique advantages of enjoying strong support of the Country and being closely connected to the world under “One Country, Two Systems”. We will promote I&T, new industrialisation, and green development in Hong Kong, to enhance Belt and Road cooperation and achieve win-win outcomes.

Hon Sunny TAN, Chairman of HKPC, attended the Forum in Beijing as a member of the HKSAR delegation headed by the city’s Chief Executive. He said, “BRI is an initiative personally planned, deployed and promoted by President Xi, and it has made remarkable achievements in the past decade. President Xi’s important remarks at the Forum have set a clear roadmap and action plan for the next decade of Belt and Road development. The Country’s rapid development and Belt and Road cooperation will bring opportunities and prosperity to the global economic recovery, as well as the development of countries and regions worldwide. Hong Kong, as a participant, facilitator, and beneficiary of BRI, will make greater contributions and find more opportunities by leveraging its unique advantages.”

Hon Sunny TAN continued, “HKPC is a key facilitator for Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) to promote high-quality development of BRI and new industrialisation. The experience of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area in promoting new industrialisation is highly valuable for BRI markets such as those in ASEAN and the Middle East. HKPC will follow the vision laid out in President Xi’s important speeches during the Forum and the eight steps to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. We will continue leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages and serving the Country’s development needs, to support BRI to make even more brilliant achievements in the next golden decade.”

Over the past decade, HKPC has helped many Hong Kong enterprises to explore Belt and Road markets, by providing Industry 4.0 (i4.0) technologies, FutureSkills training, and HKSAR Government funding. These efforts have enhanced the brand appeal of “Made in Hong Kong”, and helped the local economy in the destination BRI countries, creating abundant employment opportunities, improving the skills level of the workforce, enabling local people to benefit from BRI development. Looking ahead, HKPC will take the following five measures to promote I&T, new industrialisation, and green development in Hong Kong, and support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation:

1. Strengthen Hong Kong’s unique advantages, enhancing BRI connectivity, supporting an open world economy
HKPC fully supports HKSAR Government’s efforts to enhance the city’s traditional strengths in finance, trade, international legal and dispute resolution, intellectual property, shipping and logistics, and in aligning with international rules. We will also support Hong Kong’s endeavour to build new strengths as a global powerhouse in I&T, new industrialisation, digital economy and green development. This will help Hong Kong to seize the new opportunities presented by the Country’s plan to establish pilot zones for Silk Road e-commerce cooperation and enter into free trade agreements and investment protection treaties with more countries.

2. Promote New Industrialisation in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area through I&T, and share expertise and best practices with BRI countries and regions
HKPC will support more Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises to “go global”, and attract top-notch, high-tech enterprises and start-ups from overseas to set up office in Hong Kong for investment and development, while the Mainland will remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector. This will help BRI economies to learn from the new industrialisation experience of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, and follow suit for industries to pursue high-end, intelligent, sustainable development.

3. Support Hong Kong to become a green and smart city, fostering BRI green development
HKPC will strive to enhance Hong Kong’s edge in GreenTech, ESG, green infrastructure, hydrogen energy, new energy vehicles, and green transportation. We will strengthen collaboration with universities, research institutions, and business associations in BRI countries and regions, provide more training programmes, and help BRI markets to embrace green, low-carbon, and sustainable development.

4. Facilitate technology and talent exchange between Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and BRI markets, carry out practical cooperation and strengthen people-people ties
HKPC will help more enterprises in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to visit BRI markets, join trade shows, exhibitions, seminars, and business matching activities. We will continue as an active participant in and will support Hong Kong enterprises to join premium trade shows in the Mainland, such as China International Import Expo, and Canton Fair, for Belt and Road opportunities and strengthening people-to-people ties. HKPC Academy will deepen collaboration with consulates of BRI countries in Hong Kong to share experience and opportunities; increase technology and talent exchange, including programmes for the younger generations; and offer FutureSkills training to strengthen the talent pool as enterprises consider expansion in BRI markets.

5. Leverage Hong Kong’s strengths as an international city, bring together advantageous resources, and contribute to the enhancement of international cooperation mechanism for BRI
The Country will work with BRI partners to strengthen the building of multilateral cooperation platforms covering energy, taxation, finance, green development and other fields. Hong Kong will play a pivotal role by leveraging its advantages as an international city. HKPC and Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (Fraunhofer IPT), Germany, has jointly established the INC Invention Centre in Hong Kong to promote i4.0 and smart manufacturing. HKPC also works with RWTH Aachen Campus, a university in Germany, in the operations of Hong Kong Industrial Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Centre (FLAIR). HKPC will continuously strengthen international cooperation, bring international I&T resources to Hong Kong, and contribute to enhancing the international cooperation mechanisms for BRI.

As BRI embarks on an extraordinary journey for a new decade, HKPC will give full play to Hong Kong’s unique advantages, support the city for better integration into the national development, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and make greater contributions to the Country’s modernisation and the aspiration to build an open, inclusive, interconnected world for common development.

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HKPC is a multi-disciplinary organisation established by statute in 1967, to promote productivity excellence through relentless drive of world-class advanced technologies and innovative service offerings to support Hong Kong enterprises. HKPC is headquartered at the HKPC Building at 78 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

HKPC is a key facilitator for Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) to promote high-quality development of BRI and new industrialisation. The experience of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area in promoting new industrialisation is highly valuable for BRI markets such as those in ASEAN and the Middle East.