US Consul General Highlights Partnership With HKThe United States looks to Hong Kong as a natural partner in the move forward on trade liberalization, said Michael Klosson, US consul general in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), here Saturday.Addressing a luncheon hosted by the executive MBA program of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Klosson said Hong Kong has played a leadership role in Geneva this year. "It was one of the first WTO members -- along with the United States -- to introduce a concrete proposal for moving ahead with the mandated negotiations for services liberalization," he said. In his speech entitled "The United States and Hong Kong in the Global Economy," the U.S. consul general pointed out that Hong Kong's role in the international process of trade liberalization goes far beyond the contributions of Hong Kong's representatives in Geneva and in APEC. "Equally important is the leadership that Hong Kong provides through its day-to-day demonstration of how open markets and open societies can flourish in Asia," he noted. He said Hong Kong's economy is one of the freest in Asia. Transparent regulation, a level playing field for new entrants, a well-regulated financial system, free flow of information and capital, and the rule of law are all essential to making Hong Kong competitive, he added. It's Hong Kong's distinctiveness 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, Klosson said. |
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