Hong Kong still has plenty of room to work with Europe despite geopolitical tensions and the city should recognise Asean and Middle East countries are no substitute for the continent, the outgoing head of the local EU office has said.
Thomas Gnocchi also said Hong Kong had “changed a lot in a relatively short period of time” since he took up the post in September 2020, two months after the Beijing-decreed national security law came into force, as he underscored the importance of the city upholding its uniqueness to maintain its appeal to businesses.
“Hong Kong was an open society and is no longer an open society, that would be how I would characterise the changes that have taken place,” he told the Post in an interview last week.
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“The political changes and the overall environment do have an impact on decisions by companies on where they base their operations ... It’s important to maintain the uniqueness of Hong Kong, in the economic field, but also beyond the economic field.”
Hong Kong has been caught in the crossfire between China and the West in recent years, especially following Beijing’s imposition of the national security law and the ensuing “patriots-only” electoral shake-up that effectively dismantled the city’s once-vibrant opposition bloc.
The local administration has shifted the city’s focus to emerging markets, notably in the Middle East and the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, amid such heightened geopolitical tensions.
City leader John Lee Ka-chiu will travel to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam later this month, after previously embarking on two trips to Southeast Asia and another one to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
He has not visited any Western countries such as those in Europe and the United States, where he was sanctioned by the latter, since he took office.
While it was “inevitable” for ties between the EU and Hong Kong to be affected under the complex geopolitical environment, Gnocchi said the “important” economic relationship the two sides enjoyed could not be replaced.
“It is normal for Hong Kong to pursue relations and economic relations with Asean. From our perspective, though, I think these two markets can’t substitute for the EU-Hong Kong relationship,” he said, citing figures such as the bloc being the second-largest destination for local investment.
The diplomat added there was significant scope for both sides to work closely together, such as in the field of sustainability, an area of expertise for the EU, as well as tax good governance, green finance and green energy standards.
The EU office also planned to strengthen its efforts in promoting undergraduate and postgraduate programmes provided by European universities in English to Hongkongers, he said.
Gnocchi said the number of European companies in the city had dropped by 3.5 per cent in 2023 from the pre-pandemic level in 2019, compounded by the impact brought by Covid-19 and Hong Kong’s political changes.
The envoy pointed out that the local government had placed a strong and “overwhelming focus” on security, and he argued there were other issues that could be pursued to improve the business environment, such as the advancement of LGBTQ rights.
“Companies are happy that this can create a better environment for their employees. There are many factors and positive signals that the government can send,” he said.
The EU’s top envoy said the recent launch of a multi-entry five-year permit for foreign nationals with permanent residency in Hong Kong to enter mainland China via self-service clearance channels would facilitate travel, and make the city as an attractive based, given some Europeans there had regional roles.
He also hoped that China would extend its visa-free arrangements to all EU member states.
Looking back on his term in Hong Kong, Gnocchi said the EU office had a good working relationship with the city government despite different views on some issues, and that it had been able to raise concerns while hearing explanations from the other side.
But he said there were fewer people in local civil society that the office could meet under the reshaped political environment in Hong Kong, as some opted to act more cautiously or preferred not to engage.
“This is a shame because this is an important part of what we do,” he said, referring to its engagement with civil society as a means of supplementing the information it obtained from official channels.
“If this is limited or constrained in some way, I think it has an impact.”
Gnocchi will leave the city next month following a four-year stint to serve as the deputy head of the EU delegation in Japan.
Harvey Rouse, who is currently serving as a head of unit for international relations at the European Commission, has been nominated to succeed him.
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