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Following is the translation of the opening remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the press conference this evening (September 11) on the Economic Summit on "China's 11th Five-Year Plan and the Development of Hong Kong" at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre:
Ladies and gentlemen:
Thank you for attending the press conference today.
We have just concluded the Economic Summit on "China's 11th Five-Year Plan and the Development of Hong Kong". It is the first time that the SAR Government has made a systematic and in-depth study of the opportunities and challenges faced by Hong Kong under China's 11th Five-Year Plan. Today's meeting was a pragmatic beginning.
Today's economic summit was divided into two parts - a plenary session in the morning and the focus groups' discussions in the afternoon. There were four focus groups, each holding in-depth discussions on specific topics.
In the plenary session this morning, we examined Hong Kong's global status as an international financial centre, trade centre and shipping centre, and Hong Kong's advantages and difficulties in reaching a high ranking on the world stage. At the same time, we discussed from an overall perspective how the nation's and Guangdong's Five-Year Plans can provide opportunities, challenges and prospects for Hong Kong.
Members of the focus groups gave their much-valued views enthusiastically and sincerely this morning. All of us agreed that we had to continuously boost Hong Kong's competitiveness worldwide, in order to maintain our international status in three areas - finance, trade and shipping. We also have to uphold Hong Kong's leading position as the most international city in China. Only then can we respond to the rapid development of Mainland cities and regions to seek business opportunities together, as well as meet the challenges brought by the changing markets. At the same time, Hong Kong should reinforce its role as a bridge between the Mainland and overseas markets, and contribute to the modernisation of national economic development and its integration into the international economy.
Today's discussions covered a lot of topics. While some were discussed in depth, some were only touched on briefly and have to be studied further. This morning, I shared my thoughts on three areas. First, the direction provided for Hong Kong by the 11th Five-Year Plan is to base our future important development on three sectors - finance, trade and shipping. About this we have very strong consensus. We agree that our current strategy has exceeded the issue of "What?" - What are we doing? We already have strong consensus on what we have to do. We have to work towards being the "centres" in the three sectors. But we have to study the "How?". How to map out the development of the SAR's three strengths in relation to the country's overall planning, in particular how to leverage on our own conditions. What do we have to do? I think we have to carefully and pragmatically work out an action agenda for our targets. It is hoped that we can start practical work based on the agenda. This will solve the question of "How?".
My second thought is this. When we discuss the implementation of the agenda, Hong Kong has two unique roles. These two roles are complementary and stem from the "One country, two systems" principle. We should utilise our advantages under "one country", in particular under the country's rapid development, the SAR Government should take the initiative and identify areas where Hong Kong can contribute to the nation. Finance and monetary affairs are one major area. It is the same for the development of the reminbi. We should be proactive. With the Mainland's financial development and its continuing financial system reforms, there is a lot of room for us to provide assistance. We can also expand our own status as a financial centre through participation in it. These are some of the things we think we can secure for Hong Kong's own benefit under the "one country" concept. On the other hand, in our development plan we have to maintain Hong Kong's unique advantages under "two systems" - our legal system, our tax system and our environment in doing business. With our unique advantages, particularly in the services industry and in our legal profession, under the "two systems", we have the ability to use our expertise to assist the country in its current rapid development to become a part of the international community. In this area, there is a lot of room for work as far as the SAR is concerned.
My third thought is that when we are working to develop in finance, trade and shipping, we must aim higher. We have to use the best world standards as our benchmark. In doing so, I don't think that we are exceeding our abilities. As a matter of fact, the nation is already progressing rapidly. In trade, the financial figures are heading forwards the world's top ranks. If we look at the nation's GDP, its international income, various indicators are seeing double-digit growth every year. Under these circumstances, if the SAR wants to be fully functional to tie with the development of the country and to support its development, we must set our targets at the highest international levels. This is not just saying that we wish to do so. This is what we have to do.
In this respect and with this development trend, Hong Kong already ranks among the top countries in the world in certain aspects. However, we should not be complacent. We must keep up our efforts and strive for the best in a pragmatic way.
The focus groups this afternoon followed this strategic direction and held in-depth discussions on individual topics, addressing each particular challenge and opportunity. Now I would like to ask the Financial Secretary to brief us on the discussions of the focus groups to be followed by the convenors of the four focus groups.
Ends/Monday, September 11, 2006
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