China News Service, Shenzhen, November 13th. Title: APEC in the eyes of Hong Kong businessmen: Is it far away from the small bosses? Actually not far
China News Service reporter Cai Minjie
From November 18 to 19, 2026, the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Informal Meeting will be held in Shenzhen. As the world's attention focuses on this city labeled as "innovation", a group of community leaders and founders of corporate service agencies who travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong all year round are telling a more "specific" Shenzhen - it is not in a grand narrative, but in a customs declaration form, a bank account, and a cross-border customs clearance.
"Many people think that APEC is a matter for big companies, far away from small bosses, but it's actually not far away." said Guo Long, general manager of Hong Kong Enterprise Service Center Co., Ltd. This practitioner, who has been engaged in corporate services in Hong Kong and Shenzhen for more than ten years, deals with bosses who come to Hong Kong to open companies, rent offices, and open bank accounts every day, as well as Hong Kong people doing business in Shenzhen.
In his view, the tariffs, customs clearance, data, and personnel exchanges discussed by APEC will eventually be implemented into specific operational details. "Most companies in Hong Kong are small and medium-sized enterprises. The boss manages business, finance and customs declaration alone. Large companies have legal teams to study the rules, but small companies do not. Therefore, every time APEC makes the rules simpler and more unified, it is the small and medium-sized enterprises that benefit most directly."
The feelings of Liu Jiafa, president of the Hong Kong Nanshan Association, are equally specific. "The most intuitive thing is that as long as you have an APEC business travel card, you can go to work in various places in the Asia-Pacific without having to apply for a visa repeatedly, and the customs clearance is fast, which saves a lot of time and energy." He said that in recent years, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong port facilities have become more and more complete, and many friends who live a "twin-city life" have a much smoother daily commute.
Regarding the changes brought about by tariff reduction, trade facilitation, and customs clearance simplification, the two interviewees mentioned three words invariably: cost, time, and risk.
Guo Long made an calculation: Hong Kong itself is a free port, with basically zero tariffs. The real value of tariff reductions lies in the fact that when Hong Kong companies sell their goods to other Asia-Pacific economies, import tariffs and compliance costs are reduced, and quotations are more competitive. Simplified customs clearance, a single window, and mutual recognition of electronic documents are especially important for cross-border e-commerce and small-volume and multi-batch traders. "In the past, if a shipment of goods was stuck at the port for several days, funds would be pressed for several days; if customs clearance was faster, cash flow would be looser. For small businesses, cash flow is life."
He also mentioned that after the revision of CEPA in recent years, most service fields have eliminated the requirement that Hong Kong companies have to operate in Hong Kong for three years. Hong Kong-funded companies in the Greater Bay Area can also choose Hong Kong law and Hong Kong arbitration. “Only when the rules are clear can small businesses dare to go out.”
Liu Jiafa observed the changes in the threshold for starting a business: "There are still many young people in Hong Kong doing cross-border e-commerce. The original procedures were relatively complicated, but now the whole process is smooth. There is no need to build a large team. Relying on Shenzhen's supply chain and Hong Kong's logistics and settlement advantages, the threshold for starting a business is much lower."
Shenzhen is a center for science and technology innovation, manufacturing, and foreign trade, while Hong Kong is a window for international commerce, trade, and finance. Relying on the APEC platform, how can Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation help Hong Kong companies explore emerging markets?
"Shenzhen is the factory and R&D center, and Hong Kong is the 'overseas headquarters' and 'financial center.'" Guo Long said that if the two cities cooperate well, Hong Kong businessmen going to emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific will not go it alone, but bring the entire industrial chain with them.
Liu Jiafa believes that Hong Kong can connect intellectual property rights and financial services in the middle. "It can not only bring in good technology, but also promote Shenzhen's scientific and technological innovation products. It is a win-win situation for everyone."
Looking to the future, Guo Long said: Policies should be made "understandable and usable" by small businesses, and it is best to create a one-stop entrance; mutual recognition of review results and qualifications between the two places; smoother cross-border capital and data flows; further interoperability of port supervision and port data; accelerated mutual recognition of professional qualifications; and support for linkage between civil society organizations, organizing group inspections, sharing channels, and sharing risks.
"The big policies are already very good, but the 'last mile' needs to be implemented so that small businesses can really catch it," Liu Jiafa said.
