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Tung: China's WTO Accession Brings Opportunities, Challenges
History and geography have placed Hong Kong in the privileged position next door to the largest developing market in the world in the 21st century, providing both opportunities and challenges with the Mainland's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), said Tung Chee Hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Wednesday, December 13.
Addressing the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce's Seventh Annual Business Summit, Tung said that the HKSAR Government recognized its responsibility to provide leadership in terms of facilitating communication between Hong Kong and the Central Government, in gaining a clear understanding of how the policies of the Mainland regarding WTO accession would be implemented and in ensuring that the Hong Kong business sector have access to the opportunities which flowed from these policies.
"We will liaise closely with the Central Government's various ministries, and at the same time the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Hong Kong's various chambers of commerce and professionalbodies will need to redouble their efforts both in the Mainland and overseas," Tung said.
"Across the board, in the financial, IT, telecommunications, tourism and professional services sectors, Hong Kong is now well positioned to take full advantage of the vista of new opportunities which will flow from China's accession to the WTO," he said.
Tung cited extraordinary opportunities for Hong Kong in five specific areas, such as an equity-raising hub, a regional headquarters hub, a center for Mainland companies to expand internationally, a multimodal logistics hub, and a source of professional services for the Mainland.
"As China moves to align herself with rules and regulations of WTO, the need for professionals whether they be accountants, lawyers, architects and surveyors will be enormous and Hong Kong has an abundance of quality professionals who will be able to provide such services," Tung said.
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