International Forum on China&apos;s Economy and Policy successfully held
15.11.2023

The Chief Executive's Policy Unit (CEPU) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Chinese Institute of Hong Kong and the National Academy of Economic Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences today (November 15) jointly held the "China's Stride towards High-quality Development - The Opportunities and Roles of Hong Kong" International Forum on China's Economy and Policy 2023 at the Central Government Offices. The co-organisers were Fung Business Intelligence and the Bauhinia Magazine. The Forum brought together more than 20 experts, academics, business leaders and government officials from the Mainland, overseas and Hong Kong, and was attended by more than 400 participants, who explored in depth the opportunities and roles of Hong Kong under the trend of the country's strides towards high-quality development, as well as providing insights and suggestions on the economic development of the country and Hong Kong. The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zheng Yanxiong, delivered welcome remarks for the Forum, which were followed by an opening address by the President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Dr Gao Xiang. The President of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, Dr Deng Zhonghua; the Group Chairman of the Fung Group, Dr Victor Fung; and Member of the Academy of the Chinese Academy of Social Science Dr Gao Peiyong delivered keynote speeches on the high-quality development of the country, the new international trade landscape, and the macroeconomic policy setup of the country respectively for the Forum. The Acting Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, and Philip H. Knight Professor Emeritus of Management of the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University and Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, Professor Michael Spence, were also invited for special addresses to the Forum. In addition, the Forum included three panel discussion sessions, with the first session in the morning focusing on the present and future of the country's economy, covering pertinent issues such as industry upscaling, the financial market and the housing market. The remaining two sessions were held in the afternoon with focused discussions on Hong Kong's unique advantages as well as changes in the global economic landscape and China's high-quality opening up, and the topics included the development of headquarters economy, innovation and technology, collaboration in addressing climate change, etc. The Head of the CEPU, Dr Stephen Wong, said, "This Forum has gathered a large number of overseas and local experts, academics and business leaders, who not only gave a comprehensive review and foresight of our country's high-quality development, but also discussed in depth the positioning of Hong Kong in the overall national development and the way forward. This year marks the beginning of the full implementation of the spirit of the 20th National Congress report and the 10th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative; while the next year will be the fifth anniversary of the release of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. At a time when our country is embarking on a new journey of Chinese-style modernisation and high-quality development and when Hong Kong is at a critical juncture of its transition from governance to prosperity, it is particularly meaningful to organise this heavyweight international forum. We hope that this Forum will bring new insights to Hong Kong on how to seize the boundless opportunities of our country's high-quality development, so as to give full play to Hong Kong's unique position and advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world." More than 400 participants attended the Forum including experts, academics and personnel from overseas institutions in Hong Kong as well as representatives from think tanks, the business sector, professional bodies and local and foreign chambers of commerce. Ends/Wednesday, November 15, 2023 Issued at HKT 18:04 NNNN