Two men stand on a platform at Central Ferry Piers. The Belt and Road Initiative offers a great opportunity for the city to take advantage of its edge in finance, services and management to develop a unique investment market. Edmond Tang / China Daily

A "sharing economy" can be realized under the Belt and Road Initiative, which integrates resources across the world, and Hong Kong's role is irreplaceable in the process, experts say.

Compared with the Western world, which can be seen as an integrated economy, Asian economies are more independent and decentralized in politics, economy and culture, said Pan Jiancheng, deputy director of the China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center (CEMAC), a Beijing-based organization which monitors Chinese economic performance. There were fewer links between those countries, he said.

"Therefore, from the international perspective, the Belt and Road Initiative is something that comes naturally," Pan told a forum on promoting cooperation among the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan last week.

"By launching the national strategy, China connects countries in the Asia-Pacific region and turns them into a system, so that all members can achieve better development," said Wong Chi-chung, executive vice president of industry consultancy AECOM Asia.

The Belt and Road Initiative, which refers to Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was first proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013. The national strategy aims to boost economic and trade cooperation among countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe by improving connectivity.

After more than three decades of opening up and reform, China has developed into the world's second-largest economy with a huge market. Growing demand for consumption among its 1.3-billion population has brought great opportunities to other countries under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Outbound investment has also been increasing fast. According to official statistics, there were 593 overseas merger-and-acquisition projects from Chinese enterprises last year, with the total value amounting to $40.1 billion, of which $33.8 billion, or roughly 84.3 percent, came from overseas direct investments.

"The Belt and Road Initiative provides more fields for China to make overseas investments. At the same time, China can share the experience in its development process with less developed countries along the routes," Pan said.

However, when Chinese enterprises "go out", they may meet difficulties in services and management, Wong pointed out.

"That's exactly what Hong Kong can offer, as the city is internationalized and has deep connections with overseas markets," Wong said. "Hong Kong should play the role of a 'software engineer' in the process and take advantage of its edge in finance, services and management to help promote the strategy," he said.

With advanced legal and financial system as well as a large pool of professional talents, Hong Kong should cooperate with the mainland and Taiwan to develop an investment market and investment products that are different from the US and European markets, he added.

"In this way, Hong Kong can change the current global financial landscape and keep capital from across the Asia-Pacific region in its territory," Wong said.

Meanwhile, Lin Jianfu, president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, notes that the role of Taiwan in the Belt and Road Initiative cannot be overlooked either.

"Taiwan has a large number of small businesses and is developed in logistics and technological innovation. The mainland and Taiwan can increase cooperation in these aspects. With the help of big data and cloud computing, a sharing economy can be realized (around the world)," he said.

sally@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 04/27/2016 page9)