John Lee: Hong Kong leader vows to shore up global business role

Hong Kong
CNN Company
 — 

Hong Kong’s new leader John Lee on Friday vowed to improve the city’s standing as a global business enterprise hub, but he gave no trace of diverging from Beijing’s insistence on demanding zero-Covid policies.

The previous British colony’s status as an international monetary centre has been battered throughout the past two many years by its adherence to China’s unbending Covid restrictions. They have manufactured the metropolis less eye-catching for expats and a great deal more durable for overseas executives to go to.

Speaking in Mandarin at his inauguration, attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the main govt of the Hong Kong federal government stated he would “consolidate” the city’s “inherent useful industries.”

Lee did not give any policy detail, nor did he handle expanding pushback versus the city’s controversial Covid procedures and border controls that have alarmed lots of worldwide organizations.

Hong Kong has prolonged been an critical gateway to mainland China and an East-West conduit for world-wide organization. But the city’s foreseeable future has been termed into query by China’s moves to erode its autonomy — together with introducing a national safety regulation in 2020 — and an exodus of talent owing to the Covid rules.

Previously this year, a study of European organizations in Hong Kong located that approximately half of them had been thinking about relocating in the next 12 months.

That tracked with a similar report from the American Chamber of Commerce in January, which found that 44% of expats and businesses have been probable to go away the metropolis.

“Hong Kong still retains business enterprise prospects but an array of challenges, especially draconian journey restrictions and worsening US-China relations, weigh on sentiment,” the US report said.

Hong Kong’s quarantine rules are infamous among citizens and expats. At a person level, the government necessary most inbound vacationers to isolate in hotel rooms, on their personal dime, for 3 months, one of the world’s longest isolation periods.

Though Hong Kong officers have lifted flight bans and scaled back the quarantine requirements, an outflow of talent is by now actively playing out.

Even with out the Covid crisis, headhunters have been possessing issues bringing talent to Hong Kong for the reason that of Beijing’s escalating oversight of the semi-autonomous territory.

Xi, in his speech at Lee’s inauguration ceremony on Friday, stated Beijing would “fully assist Hong Kong” in “consolidating its standing as an intercontinental monetary, shipping and trade center” and “maintaining a no cost, open and regulated business enterprise natural environment.”

Aside from boosting Hong Kong’s present situation in finance and delivery, Lee reported his govt would also make up the city’s engineering and innovation industries.

“We will develop emerging industries, and build Hong Kong into an international innovation centre,” Lee claimed.

For the duration of his speech, Lee extolled China’s Belt and Road and Increased Bay Area initiatives, which he claimed have provided Hong Kong “unlimited options and limitless enhancement area.”

— Alex Stambaugh, Charlie Fong, and Allison Morrow contributed to this report.