At the request of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and with the approval of the central authorities, a high-level central government delegation composed of officials and experts has just visited Hong Kong, where it attended a series of seminars to elucidate the essence of the fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee.

As some observers must have realized, their presence was no mere gesture.

Much has been spoken about the urgency of Hong Kong integrating into national development strategy economically. Yet, some members of Hong Kong society, including government officials, experts, scholars, and ordinary citizens, continue to merely pay lip service to this proposal — instead of taking it seriously.  Worse, some even resist it — of course, in an implicit manner.

One of the reasons for those who resist integration is that they still cannot beat the delusion: Hong Kong could keep itself safe from the “collateral damage” caused by Washington’s geopolitical strategy against Beijing by keeping a “safe distance” from the Chinese mainland.

This, of course, is wishful thinking. Washington targets Hong Kong merely because of the city’s significance to China as its only international financial center, among other roles; Washington takes no account of the “safe distance” between Hong Kong and the mainland in making use of the city as a pawn in its geopolitical strategy against Beijing.  

Many cities around the world that have a similar colonial legacy have never achieved the success Hong Kong has attained over the past few decades. Hong Kong owes much of its success to its ability to serve the ever-rising needs of a vast hinterland, the mainland. The city’s four traditional pillar industries — financial services, trading and logistics, tourism, and professional services — did not emerge from the void; they have developed into their current shape by serving the growing needs of the mainland.

While these pillar industries, as well as the well-being of hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong workers and their families, continue to count on the mainland market, emerging industries like artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, and low-altitude economy are also likely to find mainland resources and partnerships indispensable to their development, particularly the abundant technological resources and partnership opportunities on the mainland side of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The emergence of geopolitical rivalry — which could continue, or even escalate, in the foreseeable future — has only made Hong Kong’s economic integration into the national development strategy all the more imperative. This is a reality the central authorities have fully recognized as evidenced by Hong Kong’s designated roles prescribed in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and other central government policies.

The upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), proposals for which constituted a key part of the agenda of the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, is expected to give further details on Hong Kong’s roles in coming years, including, but not limited to, the city’s role in the national economic strategy of expanding both the domestic and external markets as well as in its pursuit of technological advancement.

It is against this background that the high-level central government delegation visited and attended seminars in Hong Kong. It is hoped that the visiting central government expert-officials will bust the delusion of those who still fantasize about a “safe distance”, and shed light on how Hong Kong can play a significant role in national development in the coming years.  

The author is a current affairs commentator.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.