China's WTO Entry to Bring More Opportunities for HK: OfficialChina's entry into the World Trade Organization will bring the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region more opportunities, although greater challenges as well, a Hong Kong official said Monday.Joshua Law, Director-General of Trade and Industry, said at the launch of the Institute for China and Global Development by the University of Hong Kong that Hong Kong is "well positioned to take full advantage of the emergence of China as a world economic power. " Over the past two decades, Hong Kong has built up very strong commercial links with the Chinese mainland and such links were reinforced with Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 1997, he said. The mainland has been Hong Kong's largest trading partner for some years, Law said. The mainland market now accounts for almost 39 percent of Hong Kong's value of trade, and Hong Kong is the mainland's third largest trading partner. Last year alone, two-way trade between the two increased by 19 percent to over US$160 billion. Hong Kong also continues to be the most important entrepot for indirect trade between the Mainland and the rest of the world. Nearly 55 percent of Hong Kong's total re-exports last year were mainland-origin goods destined for overseas markets, Law said. Hong Kong's private sector is also playing a major part in the mainland's development. The cumulative value of Hong Kong's realized direct investment in the mainland reached US$162 billion at the end of June 2000. Law said the mainland's WTO membership will mean a fairer trading environment, wider market access, more foreign capital inflow, faster restructuring of state-owned enterprises, and accelerated transformation into a market-driven economy. There will be enormous benefits for Hong Kong in terms of both goods and services trade, he said. It is estimated that by 2010, Hong Kong's exports involving the mainland will rise by an additional 15 percent and its GDP by an extra five-and-a-half percent, law said. Involvement in China's services market could well usher in the next wave of Hong Kong investment into the mainland, Law said, citing that Hong Kong's professionals can contribute further to strengthening the mainland's business and legal systems. However, Law said that in order to fully reap the benefits, Hong Kong must also position itself, identify its niche, enhance its infrastructure, and sharpen the capability of its workforce. |
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