Roundup: HK Urged to Join Mainland in Developing Western AreasHong Kong investors and business people are urged to join the Chinese mainland in developing China's vast western areas which have great development potentials but are comparatively underdeveloped presently.At a seminar held here Friday on the development of China's west, participants from the mainland and Hong Kong said that Hong Kong, as an international trade and finance center, has a pivotal role to play in channeling in funds and technologies for China's west. Jiang Enzhu, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, said the development of the west offers Hong Kong industrial and business circles unparalleled opportunities to participate in China's domestic construction. The development of China's west will stimulate demands for capitals, which will help solidify Hong Kong's position as an international finance center since Hong Kong can serve as a fund-raising base for domestic projects, said Jiang. Over the past 18 years, Jiang said, the central government has spent 17,000 billion RMB (2,073 billion US dollars) on fixed assets investment nationwide, among which, 7,000 billion (853.7 billion US dollars), or 40 percent of the total, have been invested in the west. With the carrying out of China's west development strategy, more investments are needed, and more and more mainland projects and enterprises will turn to the Hong Kong exchange or its growth enterprise market for overseas capitals. This will not only help open up more capital-raising channels for China's domestic construction, but also help develop Hong Kong 's financial market and cement its position as an international finance center, he said. As the development of the western areas will further increase China's external trade, Jiang said, it will offer more room for the development of trade between Hong Kong and the mainland and help Hong Kong strengthen its role as an international trade and transportation center. Since the inauguration of China's opening up and reform policy, trade between Hong Kong and the mainland has been surging forward, from 117 billion HK dollars (15 billion US dollars) in 1978 to 2, 776 billion HK dollars (356 billion US dollars) in 1998. Exports from Hong Kong to the mainland have grown by 38.7 percent annually, and re-exports by 46 percent. For 14 consecutive years, the mainland has been ranked No.1 trading partner of Hong Kong. With its sound transportation infrastructure, wide-links with the outside world and fine market information-gathering mechanism, Hong Kong is facing a brilliant prospect in terms of developing trade with the mainland, Jiang said. The development of the west will create many business opportunities and stimulate Hong Kong industrial and business sectors to make full use of its advantages and further cooperation and exchanges with the Chinese mainland, Jiang said. Currently, Hong Kong's cooperation with the mainland is mainly focused on the Pearl River delta and the south coastal areas, and, after the implementation of China's west development strategy, the cooperation can be extended to the western areas, since the government is offering preferential policies for trail blazers in the west, Jiang said. Michael C C SZE, executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said that since the central and western areas of China is a market full of potentials, Hong Kong entrepreneurs with the intention to enter the mainland market would better move their businesses to the vast western areas rather than flooding into southeast coastal cities. Hong Kong businesspeople can make use of the advantages of China's northwest areas in technology, products and talents, to carry out cooperation and jointly develop tourism, Chinese herbal medicine processing and building material projects, he said. Development experts from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong business leaders, including Fok Ying Tung, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attended the half-day seminar co-organized by Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and several other business organizations. |
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