Beijing will bolster Hong Kong’s position as a global financial hub by enhancing openness and cooperation in the financial and economic sectors, as geopolitical shifts and emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain reshape the global order, according to Chinese regulators and global executives.
Speaking during Hong Kong’s flagship Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit on Tuesday, senior officials from Chinese regulatory bodies said proactive reforms were necessary because the world was undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, raising uncertainty on many fronts.
“We will continue to deepen financial collaboration between the mainland and Hong Kong, promote Hong Kong’s full integration into the nation’s overall development, leverage its strengths, and further consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial centre,” said Zhou Liang, vice-minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA).
“We will make full use of Hong Kong’s role as a ‘superconnector’.”
The NFRA would facilitate mainland insurers in issuing bonds and securities in Hong Kong and support banks and insurers in aiding the overseas expansion of Chinese businesses, Zhou said.
It would also reinforce Hong Kong’s role as a pilot window for the internationalisation of digital currency and electronic payments, among other initiatives.