Mr YUEN Mo (Chairman of the 52nd terms of office) October 2022
Hong Kong will have to ensure that quarantine-free travel with both sides will resume in a progressive and orderly manner, with a fine balance between the risks posed by the epidemic and the urgency for economic development.
The HKSAR government’s decision to relax quarantine arrangements for inbound travelers starting from late September represented a big step toward the full resumption of quarantine-free travel. As the local authorities promote travel between Hong Kong and the world, we hope they will also make all endeavors possible to achieve normal traveler clearance with the Mainland as soon as possible, so that Hong Kong can fully leverage on its role as the “super connector” between the Mainland and international markets, and speed up post-pandemic economic recovery.
Connected to both the Mainland and international markets
President Xi Jinping asserted that Hong Kong should maintain its distinctive status and edges, and continue to facilitate and expand its exchanges with the world. For Hong Kong to stay competitive, it must maintain close connection with both the Mainland and the rest of the world, which is a prerequisite for bringing in capital and professional talent. Now that the local epidemic situation has stabilized, Hong Kong is certainly in the position to relax quarantine arrangements for travelers. In fact, many countries have relaxed or even canceled restrictions on inbound travel. The local business sector and the community at large are also keen to see the resumption of normal travel.
The next step now would be for the HKSAR government to seek to progressively resume quarantine-free travel with the Mainland, based on domestic epidemic and economic conditions. It can kick start the process by finalizing talks and reaching a consensus with the Mainland authorities regarding “reverse quarantine”, which will allow Hong Kong residents to enter the Mainland by fulfilling quarantine requirements within Hong Kong.
Reactivating the “super connector” function
The reopening of Hong Kong’s borders to the outside world will provide favorable conditions for the city to reinforce its “super connector” role and generate new impetus for growth. For instance, Hong Kong will be able to better assert its role in the “Belt and Road” (B&R) initiative, and continue working towards becoming a service center for investment, rating, commercial arbitration and dispute resolution relating to B&R projects. It will also be able to continue its bid to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), which will facilitate the development of the local high-end manufacturing industry.
Leveraging the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) as a springboard, Hong Kong can attain complementarity with the Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area in various industries, particularly finance, innovation and technology (I&T), and high-end services. And by promoting the development of offshore RMB investment and asset management services, Hong Kong can strive to become an important platform for cross-border payments using digital RMB. Earlier, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the HKSAR and the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority jointly announced new measures to foster Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation in finance and I&T. These measures will help expand financing channels in Hong Kong capital markets, and promote facilitation of two-way cross-boundary investment and financing.
Attracting and retaining talents through reopening borders
The Chief Executive said that he would propose measures to attract global talents in his upcoming Policy Address. Over the past few years, Hong Kong has recorded sustained net outflow of permanent residents. Some multinational companies have also downsized their operations and reduced the number of employees in Hong Kong. The truth is many businesses agree that a key factor to increase the appeal of Hong Kong to talents is the resumption of quarantine-free travel.
Hong Kong is currently investing a lot of resources to drive the growth of the I&T industry. To draw in talent, we are eager to see the HKSAR government develop a clear, open and convenient non-local talent admission mechanism, while launching further enhancement measures for the existing talent admission schemes in terms of eligibility criteria, quotas and processing procedures, and look into providing non-local talent with incentives in areas like tax and housing.
Under the post-pandemic “new normal”, if Hong Kong wants to play its role as a bridge between the Mainland and the world fully and effectively, it will have to ensure that quarantine-free travel with both sides will resume in a progressive and orderly manner, with a fine balance between the risks posed by the epidemic and the urgency for economic development.
