{"id":731974,"date":"2026-06-29T01:09:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T01:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/731974\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T01:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T01:09:32","slug":"hong-kong-is-betting-on-integration-with-mainland-china-but-what-are-the-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/731974\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong is betting on integration with mainland China but what are the risks?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the second of a two-part series on the economy as Hong Kong marks 29 years since its return to Chinese rule, Lo Hoi Ying and Leopold Chen look at the city\u2019s efforts at closer integration with the nation and the opportunities and obstacles it presents. Part one can be found <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china-insider\/article\/3358383\/hong-kongs-big-economic-dreams-whats-reality-and-where-do-poor-fit?module=top_story&amp;pgtype=subsection?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">A question from his niece about how face masks should be recycled prompted materials scientist Eddie Yu to rethink sustainability and inspired him to develop biodegradable materials when he started his company, OKOsix, in Hong Kong in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Five years on, the company has seen strong demand from Western markets such as Canada, Europe and Australia and is set to expand further in these economies.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The firm has also expanded its presence in mainland China by establishing regional headquarters in the Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch in the technology hub\u2019s Futian district, as it eyes a reliable supply chain and the vast market of the world\u2019s second-largest economy.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cWe\u2019ve already got some sizeable orders and this will be our headquarters in China,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will build a factory in Guangdong in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">OKOsix is one of a myriad of Hong Kong businesses benefiting from the government\u2019s push for greater integration with the Greater Bay Area and the mainland in recent years.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The bay area is Beijing\u2019s master plan to link up Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in neighbouring Guangdong province into an economic powerhouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the second of a two-part series on the economy as Hong Kong marks 29 years since its&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731975,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[315159,550,28,103,144,101,1076,168,22831,5425,4136,18736,124274,315161,2793,21,315160],"class_list":["post-731974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-american-chamber-of-commerce-in-hong-kong","tag-beijing","tag-business","tag-canada","tag-china","tag-economy","tag-europe","tag-google","tag-greater-bay-area","tag-hong-kong","tag-instagram","tag-macau","tag-national-security-law","tag-okosix","tag-silicon-valley","tag-united-states","tag-western-powers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}