The 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Informal Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen from November 18th to 19th. Recently, many experts and scholars from Hong Kong and Macao said in interviews with reporters from China News Service that Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao can rely on the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area to fully release the dividends of institutional openness, each showing their strengths and working together to promote common prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.
Give full play to the role of "super contacts" and "accurate contacts"
China has identified "Building an Asia-Pacific Community and Promoting Common Prosperity" as the theme of this year's conference. Talking about the "super connector" role that Hong Kong can play, Tang Hei-wei, associate dean of the School of Economics and Business Administration of the University of Hong Kong, pointed out that Hong Kong, as a common law and highly internationalized free port, has financial, legal, accounting and arbitration systems that are in line with international standards. "This institutional "seamless connection" capability will help break down the barriers between economies in the Asia-Pacific."
He continued that 87% of Hong Kong's total foreign trade value is with APEC member economies. Based on the huge trade flow, combined with Hong Kong's status as an international financial center and the world's largest offshore RMB business hub, it can accurately guide international capital to the vast market of mainland China, while assisting mainland and Asia-Pacific enterprises to "go global" to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
On November 11, just one week before the opening of the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Informal Leaders’ Meeting, Shenzhen fully entered “welcome mode”. The picture shows the flowers in full bloom at the Shenzhen International Exchange Center, attracting tourists to take photos. Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Chuhong
Macau has also embarked on a "precise contact" path. “Macao is an important hub connecting the mainland, Portuguese-speaking countries and even the international market.” Ji Xianzheng, secretary-general of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, said that in recent years, Macao has continued to use the China-Portuguese platform as an axis to integrate commercial and trade exchanges, cultural and tourism cooperation, and youth exchanges into implementable cooperation mechanisms, allowing enterprises, projects, and talents to truly flow.
Help reach consensus in multiple fields and promote project implementation
The 13th APEC Tourism Ministers’ Meeting was held in Macau in June this year. The theme of the meeting was "Digital Innovation, Cooperation and Empowerment - Using Tourism to Support the Construction of the Asia-Pacific Community". Representatives from 21 economies reached consensus on travel facilitation and "AI (artificial intelligence) + cultural tourism".
At the level of industry and project implementation, Macao also emphasizes “precision”. Xie Yongqiang, chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Macao SAR Government Investment Promotion Bureau, said that Macao regularly holds ministerial talks with Portuguese-speaking countries and relies on the Sino-Portuguese Investment Fund and the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone policy to attract companies to "enter the mainland from Macao and from the mainland to the Portuguese-speaking market."
In October this year, the 33rd APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting was held in Hong Kong. The meeting reviewed and approved the "2026 APEC Finance Ministers Joint Statement" and the "Asia-Pacific Digital Infrastructure Financing Policy Statement", pointing out the direction for Asia-Pacific economies to deepen financial cooperation.
On October 20, the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers’ Meeting opened in Hong Kong, China. The APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting is one of the most important professional ministerial meetings under the APEC mechanism. It is an important platform for Asia-Pacific economies to strengthen macroeconomic policy communication and financial cooperation. Photo by China News Service reporter Li Zhihua
Deng Xiwei suggested that Hong Kong should focus on providing a safe, familiar and efficient platform for overseas funds, so that capital can safely participate in Asia-Pacific regional cooperation projects. He believes that as long as the Asia-Pacific region adheres to open cooperation, innovation-driven and mutual benefit, Hong Kong will have the opportunity to transform regional cooperation into concrete projects, long-term investment and sustainable development momentum, and share opportunities and dividends.
Bay Area collaboration, each showing its strengths
After observing the division of labor in organizing the APEC "Year of China", Ji Weiwen, associate researcher at the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that this sends a clear signal to the outside world, that is, within a sovereign country, even if there are three customs territories, three legal systems, and three currencies, they can still cooperate with each other. It further shows that the "hard connectivity" of infrastructure and the "soft connectivity" of rules and mechanisms in the Greater Bay Area can present a synergistic effect of high-level opening up while retaining the respective characteristics of the three places.
Tang Xiwei pointed out that Hong Kong should give full play to its advantages in internal and external connections, deepen cooperation with other cities in the Greater Bay Area, promote the cross-border flow of innovative elements such as talents, capital, technology and data, achieve efficient connection of scientific research, capital and industrial resources, and enhance the attractiveness of Asia-Pacific cooperation projects for the sustainable development of Hong Kong.
Macau has extended its bridge function to Spanish-speaking countries. Zhang Zuowen, Director of the Bureau of Policy Research and Regional Development of the Macao SAR Government, introduced that Macao is actively building a linkage platform between trade promotion agencies in mainland China and Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries, and through the "China-Portuguese-speaking (Spanish-speaking) Countries Economic and Trade Service Center" jointly built by Macao and Hengqin, it will attract high-quality brands from Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries to settle down, serve more APEC member economies, and help the country open up to the outside world at a high level. (over)
