Hong Kong is ready, fully prepared and eager to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), pledging that its accession would bring benefits to all the members and Hong Kong itself.
The remarks were made by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu during the celebration of the first anniversary of the Hong Kong Ambassadors Club (HKAC) on Tuesday. Established in March 2023, the HKAC aims to put Hong Kong on the map for global investors and professionals through business exchanges and high-profile events.
The RCEP is the world’s largest free trade agreement, with China and 10 states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) among its founding members. The 15 members of RCEP account for 30 percent of the global population, economic output, and trade.
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All RCEP members are major trading partners with Hong Kong, with merchandise trade with these nations accounting for about 70 percent of Hong Kong’s total in 2023, while services trade represented 48 percent in 2022.
Hong Kong applied to join the RCEP in early 2022, shortly after it came into effect on Jan 1, eyeing the benefits the partnership can offer its members, such as reducing trade costs for businesses through tariff exemptions and streamlined customs procedures.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn told the chief executive in July that he looks forward to Hong Kong joining RCEP in the near future.
“Our accession promises wide-ranging benefits, for ASEAN, for all RCEP members and, I’m confident, for Hong Kong,” said Lee.
Since 2010, ASEAN has been Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner, trailing the Chinese mainland. Bilateral trade hit $145 billion, making up nearly 13 percent of the city’s global trade.
Lee said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government plans to set up an economic and trade office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the fourth in ASEAN, following existing offices in Singapore, Jakarta, and Bangkok.
The established ties with RCEP members could pave the way for Hong Kong’s accession into the partnership, Lee said.
In addition to the 10-country bloc, Lee said the Hong Kong government has also “put a central priority on the cooperation with the Middle East”. Since the lifting of pandemic-related travel restrictions in February last year, Lee has visited ASEAN and the Middle East several times, during which more than 100 memoranda of understanding and agreements were signed, covering areas such as trade, investment, customs, education, logistics, tourism, technology, aviation, and finance.
The government is in negotiations with Saudi Arabia on an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement after similar agreements have been inked with three of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
“The well-received agreements have created confidence among our respective businesses and investors,” said Lee.
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Adopting a similar approach, the HKAC has organized seven business delegations to the Middle East within a year, including visits to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, as well as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
Through such efforts, the private sector has taken greater advantage of the untapped potential of markets from the Middle East, said HKAC Founder and Director Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, who is also a lawmaker for the commercial constituency.
The Middle East and ASEAN countries are active players in the Belt and Road Initiative — China’s flagship investment and infrastructure project proposed in 2013. Reflecting on the past year of the HKAC’s work, Patrick Tsang, founder and chairman of the organization, underscored the significance of the BRI, noting that it not only drives economic growth but also enhances cultural connections among involved countries and regions.
Contact the writer at irisli@chinadailyhk.com
