Blog
Visit to Beijing
Over the past few days, I have been on a visit to Beijing, where I called on several central ministries and financial regulators. We engaged in in-depth exchanges on the macroeconomic outlook, the current state and development of financial markets, and how Hong Kong can better play its role in the new phase of the country's development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. This visit has enabled us to gain a more direct understanding of the direction and priority areas of the country's development, as well as its underlying rationale and considerations. This provides important guidance and reference for our work to better align Hong Kong with national development strategies, integrate into and serve the overall national development, and in turn achieve high-quality development for Hong Kong.
The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, has shown great care and support for Hong Kong's development. He has also provided important guidance on Hong Kong's efforts to proactively align with the 15th Five-Year Plan. Central ministries and financial regulators have attached great importance to Hong Kong's unique functions and positive roles in contributing to the nation's vision of becoming a financial powerhouse, and have consistently offered strong support.
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| The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong (front row, centre), and the Executive Deputy Director, Mr Xu Qifang (front row, second right), met and took a group photo with the visiting SAR Government officials and representatives of financial regulators. |
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| The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong (seventh right), met with the SAR Government officials and representatives of financial regulators visiting Beijing. |
We have been deeply impressed by the care, understanding and support for Hong Kong shown by various ministries and institutions. We have also recognised that only by having a more accurate understanding of the direction, priority areas and strategies of the country's development can Hong Kong accelerate its integration into and service of the overall national development, and make the most of its own strengths.
The country is accelerating its high-quality development and high-level two-way opening up through new quality productive forces, while upholding the principles of win-win co-operation and inclusive development. This commitment is a right one. As a two-way gateway linking the country with the world, Hong Kong's roles and functions as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" will become increasingly important amid today's complex international environment. Sustained efforts are required to further solidify Hong Kong's distinctive international role as a global connector, while strengthening connectivity and synergy with the Mainland. Recently, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, together with business chambers from Hong Kong and the Mainland, held a seminar in Beijing on the 15th Five-Year Plan and new opportunities for Hong Kong, facilitating more in-depth discussions and exchanges on these issues.
In fact, with escalating international geopolitical conflicts and soaring energy prices, the global economic outlook has become even more uncertain. Enhancing trade flexibility, strengthening the resilience of industrial and supply chains, and promoting more proactive bilateral and regional co-operation have become universal aspirations. This is particularly important for enterprises planning cross-border business expansion.
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| Meeting with the Minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, Mr Li Yunze. |
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| Meeting with the Governor of the People's Bank of China, Mr Pan Gongsheng. |
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| Meeting with the Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Mr Wu Qing. |
The China Development Forum 2026, which opened this morning in Beijing, clearly reflects this shared vision through its theme: "China in its 15th Five-Year Plan Period: Advancing High-Quality Development and Creating New Opportunities Together". Key discussion topics include expanding consumption, taking forward green transition, Healthy China, technological innovation and future industries, all of which are issues of interest to global businesses. This afternoon, I will take part in a thematic session at the Forum to share Hong Kong's contributions to the global green transition. In particular, as energy resilience has become a real and urgent issue worldwide, Hong Kong's strengths in green finance and green technology will have a broader room for growth.
The China Development Forum has brought together hundreds of international business leaders, academics and think tank representatives. Over the past few days, I took part in exchanges with guests from different places and markets, who all agree that Hong Kong, as an energetic city, is entering a period of strategic opportunity. Compared with other financial centres, Hong Kong has solid security backing from the country and the free port status under the "one country, two systems" framework. Amid an intricate and rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, Hong Kong has been increasingly viewed by investors, capital and talent as a rare "safe haven" and investment destination, with funds, enterprises and talent converging at an accelerated pace.
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| Delivering a keynote speech at the seminar on the National 15th Five-Year Plan in Beijing. |
Data also speak for themselves. The total deposits in Hong Kong's banking system, after rising by 11.8% for the whole of last year, have continued to grow since the start of this year, with the total now exceeding $19 trillion. In the first two months of this year, the average daily turnover in Hong Kong's stock market rose by 17% year-on-year to more than $260 billion, with amounts exceeding $300 billion on multiple days in March. Last year, the number of companies established in Hong Kong by enterprises from the Mainland and overseas increased by 11%. Visitor arrivals in the first two months of this year were near 10 million, a substantial year-on-year increase of 18%. These figures underscore Hong Kong's unique attractiveness and international character.
We must grasp this window of opportunity, accelerate Hong Kong's own high-quality development, and help the international community better understand the city's distinctive strengths and opportunities. This week, Hong Kong will host a series of conferences from finance to technology, including the fourth Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit organised by the HKSAR Government. The summit will bring family office decision-makers and successors from around the world to Hong Kong, allowing them to experience for themselves the city's charm and explore investment opportunities here. It will help advance Hong Kong's development into the world's largest cross-boundary asset and wealth management hub.
We are pursuing a strategy to foster the synergistic development of "AI+" and "Finance+". In particular, the development and application of open-source frameworks in artificial intelligence (AI) will help Hong Kong pool talent and technologies from across the globe. On the hardware foundation of open-source frameworks, the RISC-V instruction set is viewed as a mainstream in future. Last week, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited, together with a number of leading enterprises and institutions, formally launched the RISC-V Alliance to accelerate the building of the related industry and ecosystem, and to promote international collaboration. In addition, agentic AI has recently become a hot topic of discussion. This week, Cyberport will host the first Agentic AI Innovation and Security Forum to explore ways to ensure safe applications while fostering robust development.
All these are initiatives outlined in the Budget last month and are being implemented. On local talent development, I proposed in the Budget to pool the strengths of technology companies, tertiary institutions and technology parks to provide cutting-edge AI training for both our students and teachers. Earlier, I attended an event jointly organised by a leading technology company and a local university, where I witnessed the industry and academia joining hands to promote the wider adoption and effective use of AI in Hong Kong. Collaboration of this kind allows young people and educators to have early access to cutting-edge technologies, laying a solid foundation for AI to empower the development of all sectors in Hong Kong in future.
March 22, 2026
