When people hear “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), they tend to picture ports, railways, power plants and very large construction projects. It is an understandable image. The initiative was, after all, born from the idea of connecting economies through infrastructure.

But something rather interesting is happening in Hong Kong. At the 11th Belt and Road Summit this week, the conversation has moved well beyond concrete and steel. Artificial intelligence, low-altitude economies, green technology, finance, professional services and the business of helping Chinese mainland companies go global are all on the agenda.

The BRI is changing. More importantly, Hong Kong’s role in it is changing with it.

At the opening of the summit, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said more than 60 government and business agreements are expected to be concluded, with deals and projects worth more than $3 billion already reached in the preceding days. More than 6,000 government officials and business leaders from over 70 countries and regions are attending. Those numbers are impressive. But the more revealing question is: What happens after everyone goes home?

For years, Hong Kong was described as a superconnector. It was a useful phrase, and an accurate one. Hong Kong connected the mainland with international capital, companies and markets, while its common-law system, free flow of capital and sophisticated professional services made it a natural intermediary.

But connecting is no longer enough. A connector introduces two parties. A value-adding partner helps them make the deal work. That distinction matters as mainland companies increasingly look beyond their borders. Going overseas is no longer simply a matter of finding customers. Companies need financing, tax advice, legal structures, intellectual property protection, risk management, local partners, and an understanding of markets that may operate very differently from their own.

This is where the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has an opportunity to move from superconnector to super value-adding partner.

The SAR government’s mainland enterprise outbound team (the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global), established last year, is a practical expression of that shift. It has already helped more than 300 mainland companies establish or expand operations in Hong Kong, giving them access to the city’s financial, legal, accounting and risk-management expertise before they venture further abroad.

Think of Hong Kong not as the final destination, but as the launch pad. The opportunity is particularly visible in Central Asia.

During Lee’s visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in June, 96 cooperation agreements and memorandums were signed, involving more than $1.65 billion. Kazakhstan’s national railway company has applied to list in Hong Kong. Direct flights between Hong Kong and Almaty are expected to begin early next year. Hong Kong family offices are also exploring cooperation with Kazakhstan in green energy.

These developments may look like separate transactions. They are actually pieces of a larger puzzle.

Central Asia offers energy, infrastructure, natural resources and emerging markets. Hong Kong offers capital, international financial markets, professional services and access to the mainland economy.

The opportunity is not simply to connect the two. It is to build a bridge that creates value on both sides.

That is also why the Belt and Road Summit itself is becoming more interesting. This year, for the first time, it has dedicated chapters to outbound business, Central Asia and the Middle East. The program also puts AI and low-altitude aviation alongside more traditional areas of cooperation.

The first decade was largely about “hard connectivity”. The next may be about “soft connectivity”: capital, standards, technology, data, talent and professional services.

And perhaps something even more important: trust.

This is where Hong Kong’s younger generation has a role to play.

Since the summit introduced its Youth Chapter in 2023, young entrepreneurs, students and business leaders have increasingly been brought into the conversation. For Hong Kong, the BRI should not be presented to young people simply as a national initiative they are expected to support. It should be also presented as a career and entrepreneurial opportunity.

A young Hong Kong professional working in fintech, AI, green finance or digital trade may find that the most interesting business partner is no longer sitting in London or New York. It may be in Almaty, Riyadh, Tashkent or Jakarta.

Even the summit’s symbolism has expanded. Lee pointed to Hong Kong’s first home-grown astronaut and payload specialist, currently working aboard the nation’s Tiangong space station.

That may seem far removed from Belt and Road commerce. It is not.

It captures a useful idea about Hong Kong’s future: Our horizons should not be limited by the traditional map of Hong Kong’s economy.

There is also a more immediate opportunity closer to home.

Hong Kong possesses international capital, professional expertise and global networks. The partner cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area possess manufacturing capacity, supply chains, technology and a huge domestic market. Rather than treating these advantages separately, Hong Kong could become the international front door through which Greater Bay Area companies reach emerging markets.

The model could be simple: Hong Kong builds the platform, the Greater Bay Area partner cities provide the industrial muscle, and together they go abroad.

That would turn the Belt and Road Summit from a two-day event into part of a year-round ecosystem.

The author is chairman of the Asia MarTech Society and sits on the advisory boards of several professional organizations, including two universities.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.