Hong Kong is primed to bring “singular and significant value” to the world’s largest free-trade pact once its membership is approved, the city’s leader has said, while vowing to help Southeast Asia countries capitalise on opportunities in the Greater Bay Area.
In a speech at Friday’s Hong Kong Asean Summit, an event organised by the South China Morning Post, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also highlighted that the city would soon open an Economic and Trade Office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - its fourth in the Asean bloc after Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta.
Over the past two years, Hong Kong has been actively pursuing membership in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free-trade pact, which includes all 10 Asean member states.
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Speaking to an audience that comprised senior officials from Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia, Lee said: “Hong Kong is primed to bring singular and significant value to RCEP and its members ... we are ready and fully prepared to join RCEP to play an active role in realising regional integration and creating opportunity for all concerned.”
In July, the city leader led a delegation on a visit to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia to explore business opportunities, a year after visiting Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Lee on Friday also hailed the more than 90 agreements Hong Kong had signed with the six Asean countries over the two visits.
“Those results bring home a clear and compelling message that Hong Kong and Asean mean business today, tomorrow and long down our promising road altogether,” he said.
He said Hong Kong had played a “pivotal role” in national strategies including the bay area blueprint that aimed to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities into an economic powerhouse.
“The Greater Bay Area possesses enormous development potential for a world of investors to grasp, and Hong Kong is eager to help our friends from Asean in capitalising that potential,” he said.
Asean is a regional union of 10 states comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It has been Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner for more than a decade.
Daryl Ng, deputy chairman of Sino Group and chairman of the Hong Kong-Asean Foundation, said there was “so much more” that Hong Kong could do for Southeast Asia.
He said his foundation had recently launched a film festival featuring productions from the region, while it ran outreach programmes targeting 350 domestic helpers, many from Asean countries, who worked in Hong Kong.
Malaysian investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Laotian deputy finance minister Phouthanouphet Saysombath and Cambodian tourism minister Prak Phannara were also in the summit’s guest line-up.
Joining the organisation will eliminate as much as 90 per cent of the tariffs on imports between signatories within 20 years.
Hong Kong has been actively pursuing membership in the partnership over the past two years.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Hongkongers can visit Indonesia without visa as city joins only 1 of 3 non-Asean members
- Hong Kong must push for firmer business ties with Asean or ‘wither on the vine’: ex-official
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