The two-day China Development Forum was held on 23 March 2025 in Beijing aimed at ‘fully unleashing development momentum and jointly promoting stable growth of the global economy’. Chairs of MNCs, CEOs, business leaders, scholars and representatives of international organisations gathered to discuss the latest global development trends and potential collaboration opportunities.
The Forum, hosted by the Development Research Centre of the State Council, has been committed to ‘dialogue with the world’ and seeking common development since its launch in 2000, promoting broader international cooperation, knowledge exchange and experience sharing through high-level interactive discussions.
Paul Chan, Financial Secretary for the HKSAR Government, was invited to Beijing to attend the forum to deliver a keynote speech on how to stimulate growth momentum through reform, and noted in his blog that global economic and social development is currently facing multiple challenges and that, “Protectionism and policy vacillations in some Western countries have exacerbated geopolitical risks and economic fragmentation; technological innovation has triggered disruptive changes in business operations and even models; and an ageing population has brought about a gradual but dramatic shift in the structure of consumer demand and even investment preferences”. For Hong Kong, these trends will inevitably pose development challenges but may also bring opportunities.
Cultural and creative industries have seen a boom in recent years, with some popular intellectual property (IP) products becoming a carrier of cultural identity and emotional connection for many. These IPs have spawned a large number of commodities and triggered cross-sector creations, from animation and films to music; toys, theme parks and even catering services. Combined with the development of smart terminals and online marketing, they have brought about huge business opportunities. On his visit to Beijing, Chan made a special trip to a leading cultural and creative enterprise to inspect the incubation of cultural and creative IP products and learn about its IP product management and marketing.
Hong Kong has multiple advantages in developing such cultural and creative industries. In addition to a creative space and talent pools that blend Chinese and Western cultures, the diversity and inclusion among creators not only facilitates a better understanding of the mainland market but also provides an international perspective. In addition, the introduction of key enterprise offices will also broaden the scope of target enterprises and strategically introduce more cultural and creative enterprises that combine innovation and technology to accelerate the vigorous development of the local creative industry. The HKSAR Government welcomes more cultural and creative enterprises to develop international business by leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages as an international platform connecting the inside and the outside world in terms of capital, talent, information, internationalisation and professional services.
“We will continue to strengthen publicity and promotion work in traditional and emerging markets, encourage enterprises from all regions to make full use of Hong Kong’s full-chain financing functions and the thriving innovation and technology ecosystem of the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.”
Paul Chan, Financial Secretary, HKSAR Government
Hong Kong’s advantages as an international financial centre have been consolidated and enhanced. In the latest Global Financial Centres Index report released by the UK's Z/Yen Group and the China (Shenzhen) Development Research Institute, Hong Kong's overall score rose sharply by 11 points, ranking third in the world. The gap with the top-ranked New York further narrowed, and it continued to rank first in the Asia-Pacific region. Even more encouraging is that Hong Kong’s score on “Fintech” increased significantly by 30 points, and its ranking jumped 5 places to 4th in the world, proving that the SAR’s efforts in recent years to develop the Fintech ecosystem are gradually bearing fruit. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is currently processing more than 100 listing applications, including global leading companies in the new energy field as well as mainland ‘little dragon’ companies that have attracted recent interest from investors. Chan also visited a Beijing-based AI enterprise focused on smart traffic management, autonomous driving and perception robots, which in addition to setting up an international business headquarters and global R&D centre in Hong Kong, is preparing to go public in Hong Kong. He noted, “In the future, we will continue to strengthen publicity and promotion work in traditional and emerging markets, encourage enterprises from all regions to make full use of Hong Kong’s full-chain financing functions and the thriving innovation and technology ecosystem of the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, accelerate business expansion, and jointly achieve better development.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
