Going global used to mean selling a product. Today, it means building a presence. As Chinese mainland enterprises take their brands, technology, standards, and supply chains abroad, finding buyers is only the beginning. The harder task is building a business that can compete and endure in unfamiliar markets. Doing so requires capabilities that few companies can build alone.

On Sept 16, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled Hong Kong’s first five-year plan alongside the 2026 Policy Address. The plan sets five-year development objectives; the Policy Address translates them into annual priorities and indicators. Taken together, they align Hong Kong with the national 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), and clarify Hong Kong’s role in bringing together the services that mainland enterprises need to operate abroad.

Three dimensions of alignment to national objectives

Alignment works in three dimensions. Direct alignment follows Hong Kong’s roles under the 15th Five-Year Plan. Holistic alignment looks across the entire plan to identify where Hong Kong’s strengths can serve national needs, from modern industry to the integration of education, technology and talent. Dynamic alignment allows Hong Kong’s role to evolve with national development and a changing external environment.

Policy research underpins dynamic alignment. From a researcher’s perspective, fieldwork, policy evaluation, and exchanges with mainland institutions and industry stakeholders help identify where national priorities meet practical needs. Implementation experience then informs further research and refinement, creating a continuous feedback loop.

For enterprises, alignment must deliver practical benefits: services that support global operations and, across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, rules that work together. Three tests show how.

The service test: a platform, not just a gateway

Protectionism, tariffs, and export controls complicate global operations. This is where holistic alignment matters: Hong Kong can bring together financial, legal and logistics services, alongside specialist advice on green compliance and intellectual property, to support mainland enterprises’ overseas operations.

Our research into Hong Kong’s role in mainland supply chains draws on exchanges with industry practitioners and the China Center for Information Industry Development, a specialist industrial-policy think tank under China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. These discussions point to a clear conclusion: Enterprises need a platform, not just a gateway.

Hong Kong’s first five-year plan enhances its role as a pivotal platform for mainland enterprises going global. The 2026 Policy Address responds by promoting corporate treasury and sourcing centers, and strengthening the GoGlobal Task Force’s work to connect mainland enterprises with Hong Kong professionals who can help them meet the requirements of their target markets.

The security test: gold and commodities

Commodities show how a service node serves national interests. China relies on global commodity flows, and geopolitical volatility has disrupted pricing and delivery. Diversified delivery channels strengthen supply-chain resilience.

Discussions with banks, miners, traders, and industry associations point to a clear lesson: A market needs an ecosystem, not only a trading floor. The 2024 Policy Address set out that direction by proposing a commodity trading ecosystem and an international gold trading center.

That ecosystem is now taking shape. Hong Kong now has more than 60,000 square meters of London Metal Exchange-approved warehousing; the Shanghai Gold Exchange has established its first offshore gold delivery vault here; and the central gold clearing and settlement system began trial operations in July.

The 15th Five-Year Plan backs this ecosystem in Hong Kong, a case of direct alignment. The 2026 Policy Address builds on that foundation by taking forward a half-rate profits-tax concession for physical commodity trading, among others.

The rules test: carbon and shipping

Companies going global also need standards recognized across boundaries. Under the “one country, two systems” framework, and three customs zones, the Greater Bay Area contains differences in rules, standards, and mechanisms. Regulatory alignment can turn them from friction into advantage. It does not mean uniformity, but compatibility where it serves businesses and residents.

Carbon shows why this matters. Carbon accounting, verification, trading, and settlement depend on compatible rules. The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism entered its definitive phase this year, making green compliance more pressing for affected exporters.

The 15th Five-Year Plan calls for mutual recognition of green and low-carbon standards, and our research has explored how Hong Kong could help connect mainland and international carbon markets. Markets are already moving. On Oct 14, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd announced two cross-boundary pilot programs facilitated by Core Climate: 15 corporate entities bought about 100,000 national Green Electricity Certificates through the Guangzhou Power Exchange Center, while the other tested settlement of Shenzhen Emission Allowance transactions.

These are steps toward market connectivity, not comprehensive standards recognition. As the rules evolve, so does Hong Kong’s role, a case of dynamic alignment.

Shipping demonstrates the value of complementary roles. The 2019 Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area supported Hong Kong’s high-value-added maritime services, alongside stronger shipping capabilities in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. This is not zero-sum competition over cargo. Exchanges with port groups and the ship-leasing industry, and our port-cluster research with the Development Research Center of the State Council, suggest a shared opportunity. When Hong Kong’s ship management, finance, insurance, shipbroking, and maritime law connect with mainland ports, the whole cluster gains.

What success looks like

Together, these cases point to one measure of success: Whether Hong Kong makes it easier for mainland enterprises to build and sustain overseas operations, and whether the Greater Bay Area’s rules help rather than hinder them.

Policy research, tested by implementation and feedback, keeps that answer current as conditions change. By turning institutional differences into services, Hong Kong can translate national priorities into locally grounded action, deepen Greater Bay Area collaboration, and contribute to national development. For Hong Kong professionals, the opportunity is to become lasting partners in enterprises’ global operations.

The author is head of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.