US Consul General: US, HK Work for Int'l Confidence

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, November 25, 2001

US Consul General: US, HK Work for Int'l Confidence

US Consul General Michael Klosson Saturday urged the United States and Hong Kong to work together for international confidence, openness and prosperity. Klosson spoke highly of the role Hong Kong has played in Genevaby introducing a concrete proposal for moving ahead with the mandated negotiations for services liberalization.

"It played a significant role in the debate over the Doha declaration on intellectual property rights and access to medicines," Klosson told a forum at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Looking ahead to the new round of negotiations, he hoped that Hong Kong will continue to play an active and outspoken role - working toward the goal of market opening and helping build consensus.

Klosson noted that Hong Kong's role in the international process of trade liberalization, a key part of its "international personality," goes far beyond Hong Kong's contributions in the WTOand APEC.

Equally important is the leadership that Hong Kong provides through its day- to-day demonstration of how open markets and opensocieties can flourish in Asia, he continued. In a number of sectors, such as shipping and telecommunications, Hong Kong's economy is one of the freest in Asia, the consul general added.

Klosson said that American companies come to Hong Kong because the Hong Kong government has gotten its policies right. The rule of law, the free flow of information and capital, transparent regulation, a level playing field for new entrants, and a well-regulated financial system are all essential to make Hong Kong competitive, he explained.

It's Hong Kong's distinctiveness and special status that forms the basis for its competitive advantage as well as the foundation for its close cooperation with the United States and other major trading partners, he said.

Klosson said that with all the recent talk of China's WTO accession and concern about Hong Kong's prospects, it's important not to lose sight of what makes Hong Kong special. Hong Kong will continue to prosper, not just because it happens to sit at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, but because it has developed an approach to governance that makes it an almost unmatched force in the world of commerce and trading, he added.

"As the Hong Kong government's new motto, Asia's World City, reminds us, Hong Kong's future lies not just in its role as the richest city in China," he said. Hong Kong aspires to be somethingmore -- the most globalized city in Asia, and a city where the principles of economic and political freedom are just as much partof life as a morning newspaper and dim sum, or an afternoon conversation at the Shatin racecourse, he continued.

There is a great deal of common ground between US interests in Asia in financial stability, good governance and market opening, and the interests of Hong Kong companies and the Hong Kong SpecialAdministrative Region government, Klosson said. As Hong Kong firms mature, as they become more active in the world marketplace and adopt global outlooks, he said he expects the foundation for cooperation between the U.S. government and theHong Kong government will be further strengthened.

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