Hong Kong Is Recovering, Tung Tells British Business Leaders
by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong
12 November 2003

On the first day of his official visit to the United Kingdom yesterday, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Mr Tung Chee Hwa updated senior British business leaders about recent developments in the territory, including the post-SARS recovery and closer economic ties with the mainland.

Mr Tung met with the China Britain Business Council (CBBC), the premier organisation for the promotion of trade and investment from the UK into China. The meeting at the UK Government's Foreign & Commonwealth Office was chaired by Mr Hugh Davies, the former Senior UK Representative to the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group.

The Chief Executive focused on Hong Kong's improving economic prospects, its future challenges, and its significance as the leading platform for doing business in the mainland market. He outlined several recent steps taken to work more closely with the mainland economy, including the signing of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, enhanced co-operation over the Pearl River Delta and the strengthening of links with Shanghai.

Mr Tung also told Association members that although the "One Country, Two Systems" concept has been implemented successfully, Hong Kong had been passing through a painful and difficult economic restructuring in the last few years.

Noting that Hong Kong was no longer the only bridge to China, or China's to the world, he said its role had to be different. "We need to move up the value chain, leveraging on the development on the mainland, offering services in the areas of finance, trade logistics, tourism, doing what we do best, and staying one step ahead of our competitors."

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