Two days after Donald Trump won the US presidential election, China’s top official in charge of Hong Kong convened a crisis meeting with Hong Kong’s property tycoons, business and political leaders in Shenzhen on Friday.

Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told the business leaders to “recognise their responsibilities” and take “concrete actions” in maintaining the city’s prosperity and stability.

A state of war with Trump

It is not the first time top Beijing officials have sought an audience with Hong Kong business elites on the developments of the city. But the messages given by Xia this time were markedly different, as if the nation and the Hong Kong SAR are nearing into a state of war with Trump soon to return to White House.

An attendee quoted Xia as saying the US would “continue its efforts to contain China” regardless of who won the election. Trump’s threat to increase tariffs on Chinese imports has stoked fears of a trade war with China.

Xia told a group of about 30 business leaders they should “illustrate their love for the country and Hong Kong with concrete actions” and actively support the administration by the chief executive and the government. He said they should take the initiative to shoulder the responsibility in promoting high-quality economic development in Hong Kong.”

The message to the business leaders is clear. Do more walking, not just talking.

Media reports quoted sources as saying those actions included participating in government land sales more actively and bigger investment in innovation and technology and helping to tell “good Hong Kong stories” to the world.

The prospect of business

The city’s property market slipped in recent years. Despite the lifting of all major cooling measures since last year, the market remains lackluster with lived-in home prices recording a year on year decline of about 12.5 per cent in September, hitting their lowest level since August 2016.

Faced with uncertainty in the local economy and the external environment, real estate developers have lost their appetite for land in recent years.

Last week, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) rejected a joint-venture bid from CK Assets Holdings for a site in Kowloon City, the lone respondent to the development plan. Industry analysts said in media reports the terms of the project were commercially unattractive.

Like the setback of URA’s Kowloon City project, the city’s real estate, ports and logistics business and innovation and technology front are fraught with uncertainty and difficulties in both short- and medium-term.

In the face of competition from the neighboring cities, the prospect of business such as ports may look even dimmer.

According to attendees, Xia has highlighted the issue of the fall of the ranking of Hong Kong ports globally.

Hong Kong dropped out of the top 10 busiest container ports globally last year, taking 11th for the first time, according to Alphaliner, an international shipping consultancy. Shanghai and Singapore topped the list.

Xia reportedly said “Hong Kong is not Hong Kong without ports.”

Whether Xia’s direct appeal works in luring new investments in sectors such as ports is questionable if ports business is proved to be no longer viable and profitable.

Assigned role of business sector

Speaking at a radio programme on Saturday, Development Secretary Bernadette Linn sought to interpret what Xia meant when he urged tycoons to “actively participate” in the city’s development.

She cited the Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau reclamation projects as examples of the city’s long-term development plans, saying Xia hopes businessmen will make their bids after the land creation work is completed.

By rallying the business sector, Beijing is hoping that they will help buoy the economy in the immediate term for the city’s to strengthen its assigned role designated by President Xi Jinping in his visionary plan for the nation in the long-run.

Prior to the Shenzhen meeting, attendees were told they should be more concrete on what they plan to do to help boost prosperity. The business sector was told not to keep asking for Beijing’s favours, but to make contributions.

More political responsibilities

Late US President John F. Kennedy had said in his inaugural speech in 1961: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

Once dubbed as a paradise for adventurers, Hong Kong has thrived on entrepreneurship. The lust for profits in the DNA of business people has become the impetus of the city’s phenomenal development.

During the British colonial rule and for a certain period of time after 1997, the Government had played a role of facilitator in economic development, providing basic infrastructure and basic rules, including rule of law and a business-friendly environment. Business people did the rest. The chase for profits fueled competition. Competition spurred progress.

Business people in Hong Kong are now bracing for a rapidly-changing world order with the China-US rivalry entering turbulent waters and a new business environment with more political responsibilities put on their shoulders.

Translated into business, they are faced with a list of difficult questions and tough decisions.

Should they shift their overseas investments from the US, European countries to Southeast Asia and the Middle East? Should property developers venture into such unfamiliar zones as IT? Should they take more commercial risks in participating government projects for political gain, if any?

( Photo : FHKI fackbook )

 

▌[At Large] About the Author

Chris Yeung is a veteran journalist, a founder and chief writer of the now-disbanded CitizenNews; he now runs a daily news commentary channel on Youtube. He had formerly worked with the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Economic Journal.