A large delegation led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has just visited the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to forge closer ties with the region. The group signed 96 declarations and memorandums of understanding with local businesses and organizations, which according to Lee, are in the areas of aviation, finance and trade, innovation and technology, the digital economy, green development, and more.

Regarding the trip, Lee was quoted as saying: “I believe that Kazakhstan can serve as a hub for Hong Kong to connect with the Central Asian market. In turn, Hong Kong can be Central Asia’s hub in the east and southeast Asian region.”

The visit to Central Asia marks a continuation of the city’s bid to fundamentally diversify its global options amid geopolitical tensions, having successfully shrugged off Western pressure to maintain its lead as a global financial center. While the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was historically purposed as a center for Western capital in East Asia and the Pacific, the world has fundamentally changed.

The United States’ geopolitical strategy against China, as well as the policies of the current US administration, pursuing militant protectionism, are a source of continued political risk in international commercial ties, as well as serving as a detriment to global stability and business confidence above all.

While the US has not severed financial or investment ties with the HKSAR, given that it is too important as a financial center, Washington’s policies to curb China’s rise are unfavorable to the special administrative region economically. Some US politicians have also become hostile to the HKSAR following the outcomes of the 2019-20 riots and the subsequent implementation of national security laws, casting a shadow over the prospect of bilateral economic and trade ties with the US and its allies.

Central Asia represents just one of many windows of opportunity, and despite what critics claim, the maintenance of “one country, two systems” and the city’s unique administrative and economic autonomy is an essential part of this formula

As a result, the leadership of the SAR has spent the past few years hedging its options by affirming Hong Kong’s usage as a financial center to a diverse range of countries, all of which have considerable capital, as well as by expanding the city’s economic outreach to nontraditional markets.

This has included deepening ties with the adjacent region of Southeast Asia, as well as the Middle East, Africa, and now Central Asia. Concerning Central Asia, there are several geopolitical factors that make Kazakhstan a massive opportunity.

First of all, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has severely diminished Kazakhstan’s use of Russia as a traditional financial center partner because of Western financial sanctions.

Second, as an energy exporting economy, Kazakhstan is in prime position to benefit from increased demand stemming from a global energy crisis created by the US war in Iran, disruption in the Middle East, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Which country is the world’s biggest customer for such energy supplies and happens to be Kazakhstan’s neighbor? The answer is China. Thus, a multifold opportunity is granted to Almaty to obtain Chinese capital in order to better develop its oil and gas infrastructure, while of course increasing its exports of energy to China. This is described as a win-win situation.

In doing so, Hong Kong presents itself as the best possible candidate as a financial center that can bring the resources to the table which can further the development of energy infrastructure in Kazakhstan. The SAR acts as a gateway between Chinese capital and the outside world. This visit therefore coincides with the city’s leadership’s vision to better align the SAR with national foreign policy and strategic objectives, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, and Kazakhstan is very important in this regard.

As Lee said: “As one of the world’s three major financial centers, and the world’s largest cross-boundary wealth management center and offshore renminbi business hub, Hong Kong can provide diversified and flexible support, including capital and asset allocation for Kazakhstan’s economic reforms and infrastructure development.” Thus, we might conclude by noting that the city is carving its own way through a turbulent world by pursuing a strategy of greater economic integration with other regions, positioning itself as a gateway to capital and enterprise.

Central Asia represents just one of many windows of opportunity, and despite what critics claim, the maintenance of “one country, two systems” and the city’s unique administrative and economic autonomy is an essential part of this formula.

The author is a British political and international-relations analyst.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.