SAR 'right in the middle of an hourglass'

Hong Kong will have the best of both worlds by moving up the value chain and cultivating deeper economic and trade integration with the Asia-Pacific region. Opportunities will abound once the SAR joins the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah told China Daily's Su Zihan.

A barrier-free trade environment would be conducive to the businesses of every party involved - producers, suppliers, logistics operators, traders and, ultimately, consumers - while bilateral or multilateral free trade agreements have created the momentum for better and freer trade, especially for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a gateway to the Chinese mainland and a recognized trade and financial center.

Signed in November last year, the 15-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement brings together some of the region's biggest economies. It comprises Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, accounting for about one-third of the global economy.

Experts say the RCEP, which will come into force on Jan 1, 2022, is expected to boost exports of member economies by 10.4 percent above the baseline by 2025.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations is also Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, merchandise trade between the HKSAR and ASEAN had gone up by 21 percent year-on-year to HK$589.7 billion ($75.6 billion) in the first half of this year.

Although Hong Kong has yet to join the RCEP, 13 of the group's economies have signed free trade agreements with the city.

"The Asia-Pacific region that embraces the 15 RCEP countries is like an hourglass, with Hong Kong right in the middle," Edward Yau Tang-wah, HKSAR's secretary for commerce and economic development, told China Daily. "What we could offer is the best locality for trade in this region, plus the fact that Hong Kong is also a financial, trading, navigation and aviation hub."

The RCEP is of great significance in promoting the restructuring of industrial production value chains and the development of economic and trade integration in the region. Having been an advocate and practitioner of free trade, Hong Kong is well positioned to join the free trade accords serving the region and beyond.

"Fundamentally, all the (RCEP) ministers I have talked to so far have no objection to Hong Kong joining the trading bloc because Hong Kong has the advantage of being a founding member of the World Trade Organization. It's also a separate customs territory within this multilateral trading regime, as well as a separate member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum," Yau says.

Besides commodities trading, Hong Kong offers a lot of professional services, all of which are supportive sectors that Hong Kong can bring to the RCEP.

"Hong Kong is definitely ready to join the high-quality, truly free trade agreements, particularly the RCEP, which emphasizes goods of common origin, removal of trade barriers and achieving long-term zero tariffs," Yau says. All these factors sound good for the business community.