Future bright for US, HK ties: official

No time could be merrier than seeing two of my favorite cities - Hong Kong and San Francisco - vowing to work more closely together. The marriage of the two gateways, as they are inclined to call themselves, should enhance the China-US relationship as a whole.

A speaker's luncheon on June 3, which featured visiting Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam, was full of insight and optimism for advancing the existing mutually-beneficial Hong Kong-US ties to new highs.

In its Hong Kong Policy Report 2015, the US State Department told Congress: "Hong Kong's strong traditions of rule of law, low levels of corruption and high levels of public safety make it a preferred choice for American businesses in the region."

That preference for Hong Kong as a base for American businesses to oversee regional operations speaks loud and clear, and in many languages, of the confidence US companies and global business have in Hong Kong's enduring advantages, said Lam.

Those enduring advantages, Lam said, include a level playing field for all companies, easy access, a spirit of free enterprise, a simple and low tax system, globalized service standards and capital formation, among others.

"Hong Kong has just regained her position as the world's No 1 in terms of economic competitiveness as evaluated by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development in its World Competitiveness Yearbook 2016," Lam added.

The first stop of her nine-day US visit, Lam said San Francisco differentiates itself from Washington and New York with the many similarities it has in common with Hong Kong.

"Our two cities, after all, have much in common, from technology, housing and cultural matters to our shared delight in seafood and dim sum. Many Chinese Americans in San Francisco are actually decedents of Chinese migrants including those from Hong Kong," said Lam, adding that she had paid a courtesy call on San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee earlier in the day.

Also paying a visit to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on Friday morning and sharing thoughts with its director, Neal Benezra, Lam said Hong Kong is constructing the West Kowloon Cultural District project, which will include a park, a wide range of performing arts venues and a museum of contemporary art called M+ and will emerge as one of the world's largest art and cultural developments.

"With the opening scheduled for 2019, I am naturally interested in exploring collaboration with similar museums around the world," said Lam.

American presence in Hong Kong is strong. According to the US Consulate General in Hong Kong, some 90,000 American citizens are living in Hong Kong. Nearly 1,400 American companies work out of Hong Kong. And the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, with some 1,700 members, is the largest international chamber in the city and one of the largest American chambers outside of the US.

The bilateral business relationship is also strong: America is Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner and Hong Kong is America's ninth-largest export market.

"Last year, Hong Kong bought $37 billion worth of goods made in America. In 2015, Hong Kong was the United States' seventh-largest market for agricultural products and fifth-largest market for beef and veal exports," Lam said.

California oranges and wine have long been dominating dining tables of Hong Kong citizens. "It comes as no surprise that Sunkist has long been the alternative name we have in Hong Kong for oranges," said Lam.

Since Hong Kong removed all wine duties in 2008, the total value of its US wine imports has almost tripled to around $1.4 billion last year. "American wineries continue to have a significant presence in major wine fairs in Hong Kong, namely the Vinexpo, the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair and the Wine and Dine Festival," Lam added.

"We are also a magnet of foreign capital," said Lam, adding Hong Kong was the world's second-largest recipient of foreign direct investment in 2014. The US ranked sixth among top sources of investment into Hong Kong with a total of nearly $50 billion in 2014.

Inviting US companies to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative by taking advantage of Hong Kong's strengths as an international intermediary, Lam said Hong Kong brings people and business from the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world together and will do much the same for the Belt and Road, its projects and programs, as a slam-dunk.

"In our long, strong, and growing, friendship with the United States of America, I can see a rewarding future," she added.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com.