Editor’s Note: It’s no doubt that Hong Kong’s future is intertwined with that of the nation’s. In the run-up to the Communist Party of China’s 20th National Congress, China Daily invited leaders from Hong Kong’s various sectors and professions to share their visions of the upcoming event and the city’s development. In this article, Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, lawmaker from the import and export sector, said Hong Kong will consolidate its strengths in business and trade while providing indispensable contribution for the country to achieve the goal of modernization.

1. The Communist Party of China’s 20th National Congress is about to begin. How do you view the development of the country and the city for the past decade? What about your sector? Any changes that impressed you the most?

In the past 10 years, our country’s economy has developed rapidly. Looking at the foreign trade import and export statistics, the total value of China’s foreign trade imports and exports in 2012 was $3.87 trillion, and by 2021 had risen to $6.05 trillion, nearly double and reaching a historic peak. This achievement is hard-earned, especially in recent years, with the changing international situation, the prevalence of trade protectionism, coupled with the impact of the pandemic, and the complex environment in which the global supply chain has been distorted, yet China’s foreign trade imports and exports can still maintain a high growth trend. It shows the huge driving force and broad space for China’s economic development.

READ MORE: Xi’s remarks provide blueprint for HK development

In the past 10 years, our country’s economy has developed rapidly

The import and export industry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which I serve, has also benefited from the development of China’s foreign trade. For example, the total import and export trade of Hong Kong in 2012 was HK$7.35 trillion ($936 billion), and in 2021 it reached HK$10.27 trillion in just 10 years! Moreover, what impresses me most is that Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland have trade and investment promotion, customs clearance facilitation, e-commerce, transparency of laws and regulations, commodity inspection and quarantine, food safety, quality standards, intellectual property protection, brand cooperation and other aspects related to trade. The cooperation has also made many important breakthroughs. In particular, in recent years, the country has continuously proposed updating the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement to help Hong Kong’s import and export trade industry gradually develop from a relatively simple entrepot trade to a collection of various trade models, an integrated economy of trade and operations. It can be said that it is much more convenient for Hong Kong to do business with the mainland now, and the development prospects and space are broader.

2. Poverty alleviation is one of the key tasks of the CPC’s past decade’s work, which also came to fruition when the mainland got rid of absolute poverty. What can Hong Kong learn from the mainland’s poverty alleviation work when it is embroiled in a widening wealth gap?

According to the latest report released by the Hong Kong SAR government, the number of poor people in Hong Kong has increased to 1.653 million, with a poverty rate of 23.6 percent, a record high. According to the latest estimates, the Gini coefficient in Hong Kong would be likely to surpass 0.539, which is also a record high. These all show that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, seriously affecting the harmony and stability of the society and hindering further development in the future. Therefore, I think that although Hong Kong is a capitalist society with a free economic system, the SAR government must establish a people-oriented governance concept and strive to share the fruits of economic development with all citizens, so as to maintain the long-term prosperity of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong SAR government must learn from the experience of poverty alleviation in the mainland. First, it must set a realistic poverty line according to the specific conditions of Hong Kong society, and designate a plan to reduce poverty within five years. At the same time, it is necessary to encourage the wealthy to do more charity and to achieve a fair and reasonable redistribution of social wealth through sound taxation and other positive adjustment methods. The government should appropriately invest more resources to assist residents below the poverty line to gradually get rid of poverty and improve their lives.

ALSO READ: HK still looks to ‘one country, two systems’ for future success

3. What do you think a closer integration with the Chinese mainland for the past 10 years has brought to your industry? How do you perceive it will go looking forward?

Since July 1, 1997, Hong Kong has returned to the embrace of the motherland and has become a special administrative region under the direct jurisdiction of the central government. It is playing an indispensable and unique role in the country's modernization drive and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In recent years, the country has launched a grand plan for high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As a metropolitan city in the region with the most international integration, the most active economy and the best business environment, Hong Kong should be a high-level role model for opening up to the outside world. As far as the import and export industry is concerned, I believe that the closer integration with the mainland in the past 10 years has brought broader development space and more opportunities for the development of the industry. Therefore, in the future, we must continue to take advantage of the unique advantage of being backed by the mainland, the world's second-largest economy, take full integration into the overall national development as the guiding ideology, seize the huge business opportunities brought about by the country’s Belt and Road Initiative, and make full use of the original international trade networks carry out all-around and multichannel flexible operations, and strive to solve deep-rooted problems such as lack of real economic support, high costs, and inadequate innovation. At the same time, it will promote the development of innovative technology and the real economy, accelerate the pace of economic transformation, and use Hong Kong’s strengths to solve the country’s economic needs.

READ MORE: HK fitting in with national strategic plans

4. For the past 10 years, many favorable policies were rolled out for Hong Kong and Macao residents. Is your industry one of the beneficiaries? What role do you think such policies play in helping your sector to grow stronger?

Over the past decade, a number of policies have been introduced to benefit Hong Kong and Macao residents, and the import and export industry is one of the beneficiaries. For example, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China has been working with various localities and relevant departments to actively promote the innovation and development of cross-border e-commerce. All nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area have been fully covered. According to the latest statistics from the customs, in the first quarter of 2022, cross-border e-commerce imports and exports amounted to 434.5 billion yuan ($60.65 billion). The import and export of cross-border e-commerce in various comprehensive pilot areas in the Greater Bay Area has increased by 23 percent. The Ministry of Commerce also stated that the next step is to continue to support the Greater Bay Area to conduct pilot projects, explore and innovate new models of trade with Hong Kong and Macao, and build cross-border e-commerce, industrial chains and ecosystems to promote the high-quality development of trade in the Greater Bay Area. All these have provided a lot of development opportunities for our import and export industry to actively respond to the changes in the new international economic and trade environment.

READ MORE: Hong Kong needs to take concrete steps to boost I&T development

5. What are your expectations for Hong Kong’s participation and contribution to the nation’s development in the upcoming decade?

The next 10 years will be an important stage of the “two-step” strategy. By 2035, our country will basically achieve socialist modernization on the basis of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-around way. President Xi Jinping pointed out in his important speech on July 1 when he visited Hong Kong this year: “On the country’s journey toward building a modern socialist country in all respects and realizing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the central government believes that Hong Kong will make great contributions.” It is believed that the Hong Kong SAR will continue to maintain its status as an international financial, shipping and trade center in the next 10 years, maintain a free, open and regulated business environment, maintain the common law system, expand smooth and convenient international connections, and become the most modern and open economy in China. On the other hand, it will also be fully integrated into the overall situation of national development, providing all kinds of support needed for the country to continue its modernization drive, and provide indispensable support for the country to successfully achieve the strategic goal of the first step.