Hong Kong will eye stronger economic and trade ties with the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the city’s leader said on Thursday. John Lee vowed to prioritise future visits to Southeast Asia.
Lee met the press in Beijing on Thursday after he led a 70-strong delegation to a Belt and Road forum hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping to mark the tenth anniversary of the vast infrastructure project. The two-day forum, which concluded on Wednesday, hosted representatives of 130 countries, as Xi announced over US$100 billion (HK$782 billion) of new funding for the project.
Speaking to reporters in Cantonese, Lee said he was thrilled by the success of the decade-long initiative and XI’s action plan. His administration is determined to become a hub that facilitates cooperation and exchange between Belt and Road countries, he said.
“Hong Kong will leverage its unique strength under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle to contribute to the Belt and Road Initiative,” Lee said in Cantonese.
Asked about his plans for future foreign visits, Lee said ASEAN countries remain his “priority.” In July, Lee visited Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia – all member states of ASEAN – to seek more business opportunities in the region.
“ASEAN is the second largest trading partner of Hong Kong, our ties in cooperation and trade could be developed infinitely,” he said. “I plan to visit other ASEAN countries to bring us closer together, and strive for Hong Kong’s swift accession to RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership),” he added. The RCEP is a free trade agreement between ASEAN and five Asian-Pacific countries including China, Japan, and Australia.
Asked if he plans to visit other countries and rebuild ties with the west, the Chief Executive said that he has plans for trips to the Middle East and Europe – and the latter remains an important market. He did not give further details.
The Belt and Road Initiative, one of Xi’s signature foreign policies, has seen Beijing invest in infrastructure in over 100 countries, many of them in the Global South.
Supporters of the strategy say it helps boost trade and raise the Gross Domestic Product of participating nations. Critics, however, have called it a Trojan horse designed to increase China’s influence, claiming it is a case of “debt trap diplomacy.”
Last week, Beijing released a white paper saying that the initiative has generated more than US$2 trillion (HK$15 trillion) in contracts in more than 130 countries.
Closer ties to Southeast Asia
Lee’s remarks came days after he met Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in Hong Kong, when the pair agreed to promote more exchanges, Lee said during a weekly press conference last Tuesday.
During his July visit to Singapore, Lee signed seven agreements with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on improving cooperation and trade between the two Asian finance hubs.
Meanwhile, Lee, who is under US sanctions for his role in the handling of the 2019 pro-democracy protests and unrest, will be barred from entering the US to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum meeting in San Francisco this November, the Washington Post reported in July citing sources.
New co-operation agreements
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the chief executive also said that three new co-operation agreements relating to medical technology, innovation and technology, and investment, were signed during the two-day forum. The deals are valued at US$450 million (HK$ 3.5 billion), Lee said.
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