The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong — flag bearers of free trade and collective innovation — have what it takes to be an oasis of certainty, a contributor, and a driving force of next-generation technology amid global turbulence, officials and experts heard at the first-ever Hong Kong edition of an innovation conference jointly hosted by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) and the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
“The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong stand as two of the few countries and regions worldwide that have something to negotiate with the Donald Trump administration (over its sweeping tariff plan and greater trade protectionism),” Carl Fey, professor of strategy at Oslo-based BI Norwegian Business School, told a panel discussion at the International Science, Technology and Innovation Forum of the BFA 2025 Hong Kong Conference on Friday.
Over the past year, China has increased its trade with each of the major countries in the Global South by 15 to 30 percent. This comes as a telling example of the country’s unwavering commitment to globalization and international collaboration, Fey said.
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Cooperation and integration are the name of the game. Fey never fails to be impressed by how well interconnected the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) — an economic and innovation powerhouse of growing global significance — can be. This is not only evidenced by the mega infrastructure projects that push the limits of engineering, but also by the fact that each city in the Greater Bay Area has its own strengths to make a meaningful impact, Fey said.
Hong Kong’s zero tariff status as a free port, Fey said, is a unique advantage that deserves even more attention amid an ever-changing trade landscape.
Yet, the city has more to offer. Lillian Cheong Man-lei, under secretary for innovation, technology and industry of the HKSAR government, summarized the financial center’s “unparalleled role” in turbocharging the Greater Bay Area’s status as a prominent innovation cluster into three key areas: integrating innovation and supply chains; cultivating future industries and targeting global frontiers; and developing innovative cross-boundary synergy.
In times of uncertainty, chaos, complexity and ambiguity, “building a resilient, flexible innovation ecosystem is the best way to protect entrepreneurs,” said Andrew Staines, assistant director general of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
He underscored the near-unlimited potential of the world’s second-largest economy and the Greater Bay Area — the nation’s most productive, vibrant geographical area.
According to WIPO’s latest Global Innovation Index ranking, China now boasts 26 of the global top 100 science and technology clusters among the global top 100, ranking first worldwide for the second consecutive year. The ranking, released in September, assessed 130-plus economies.
Four of the world’s top 10 innovation clusters are in China, including the Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou cluster that came second on the list for the fifth year in a row.
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Amid talks of the sheer power of artificial intelligence (AI) and how this next-generation technology could help companies enhance efficiency, Fey said the Greater Bay Area has all the elements needed to step further toward becoming “a central place” in the world to make AI a real game-changer in helping companies become more innovative.
Bater, executive vice-governor of the Hainan Provincial Government, eyes potentially huge opportunities for those with the foresight to jump on the bandwagon and deepen the collaboration across the Greater Bay Area in the fields of aerospace, green energy and the digital economy.
Since its inception in 2019, the International Science, Technology and Innovation Forum of the BFA has successfully held three previous editions — in Macao, Guangzhou, and Zhuhai.
Contact the writer at sophialuo@chinadailyhk.com
