Public consultation for Hong Kong’s first-ever five-year plan is set to begin soon. Designed to align with the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), this initiative marks one of the most groundbreaking steps taken by the city since its return to the motherland, carrying high expectations from the central government. As the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government steps up its preparatory work, public interest in the blueprint continues to grow.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has repeatedly expressed his gratitude for the central government’s guidance and support in drafting the plan. He noted that aligning with the 15th Five-Year Plan will bring massive opportunities to Hong Kong, including business prospects, technology, talent, and innovation, describing the nation’s development as a strong tailwind for the city. In addition to dispatching principal officials to visit relevant central ministries and commissions, Lee has actively engaged with Guangdong province and other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He has also held discussions with HKSAR deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) and HKSAR members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference to solicit their views.
The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, adopted at the fourth session of the 14th NPC on March 12, upgrades Hong Kong’s strategic positioning from the “eight centers” outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan to “10 centers, two hubs, and one ecosystem”. This elevated status underscores the city’s increasingly vital role in the nation’s overall development. Formulated from a macro-strategic perspective, this new positioning sets clear goals, directions, and priorities for Hong Kong’s own five-year plan, serving as a distinct hallmark of the central authorities’ emphasis on the city’s first five-year plan.
Hong Kong’s development over the next five years requires a broader stage, and the central government has endowed the city with three major opportunities from a strategic perspective. The first lies in the Greater Bay Area, as the 15th Five-Year Plan maps out a new vision for the region, offering Hong Kong a vast hinterland for growth. The second is tied to the Belt and Road Initiative, with the national plan supporting Hong Kong in leveraging its international advantages to build a platform for investment, financing, legal services, and cultural exchanges, thereby helping the city expand its global market reach. The third opportunity centers on the internationalization of the renminbi, as the plan backs Hong Kong in consolidating its role as an offshore RMB business hub, thereby creating new growth engines for its financial sector.
The central government’s emphasis on Hong Kong’s five-year plan is further demonstrated by its efforts to support, develop, and benefit the city at the institutional level, making the formulation of the plan more authoritative and efficient.
First, the National Development Planning Law, adopted at the fourth session of the 14th NPC, empowers the city by including provisions that specifically support Hong Kong and Macao in aligning with national development strategies and formulating their own plans. This legislative milestone elevates the central government’s policy support into a robust legal framework, providing a solid legal basis for the city’s long-term planning.
By providing clear directions, targeted policies, and concrete projects, the central authorities have offered comprehensive and meticulous care. This ensures that even before its official launch, Hong Kong’s first five-year plan is backed by all-around, full-chain support, once again demonstrating the immense institutional advantages that “one country, two systems” brings to the city
Second, the central authorities fully respect the HKSAR’s high degree of autonomy by clarifying the SAR’s primary responsibility. The Basic Law stipulates that the HKSAR exercises a high degree of autonomy and enjoys executive, legislative, and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication. The central government makes it clear that the city’s first five-year plan is to be drafted, decided, and implemented independently by the HKSAR, without central interference in its specific content, formulation process, and execution details. This clear delineation of responsibilities lays a solid foundation for the planning process.
Third, the HKSAR government bears the primary responsibility under the executive-led system. This system ensures centralized decision-making and efficient execution, effectively mobilizing social resources to avoid fragmentation. It also ensures smooth communication and strong coordination, seamlessly connecting the central government’s macro-guidance with the SAR’s autonomous planning to meet both national strategic requirements and local development needs.
Under the coordination of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, a comprehensive, multitiered, and regular coordination mechanism has been established. This mechanism takes a holistic and coordinated approach to build a planning alignment framework under the “one country, two systems” principle. It provides strategic foresight and counsel by setting up a guidance system, with expert think tanks empowering the entire formulation process. It also fosters policy synergy through multi-level collaboration and collective wisdom, ensuring that supportive policies for Hong Kong are precisely tailored and matched. After all, Hong Kong’s five-year plan must be more than just a grand vision; crucially, it must be actionable, practically implementable, and capable of delivering tangible results.
Overall, the central government has formed a three-dimensional support model for Hong Kong’s future development, integrating “planning, policies, and projects”. By providing clear directions, targeted policies, and concrete projects, the central authorities have offered comprehensive and meticulous care. This ensures that even before its official launch, Hong Kong’s first five-year plan is backed by all-around, full-chain support, once again demonstrating the immense institutional advantages that “one country, two systems” brings to the city.
The author is vice-chairman of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
