The Plan is action agenda for Hong Kong to better capitalise on the aggregate advantages arising from national and international opportunities
Formulated in the opening year of the National 15th Five-Year Plan, this inaugural Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong represents a major initiative of the HKSAR Government to uphold and enhance the executive-led system, and to improve the efficacy of its governance. It also addresses the strategic planning need for Hong Kong to proactively align with national development strategies, so as to better integrate into and serve the national development.
“This inaugural Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong is of monumental significance. Not only is it an action agenda for Hong Kong to better capitalise on the aggregate advantages arising from national and international opportunities, but also a pathway for continuously enhancing social well-being,” explained John Lee, Chief Executive.
“By formulating the Five-Year Plan, it shall shed light on Hong Kong’s directions of development, optimise resource allocation, enhance social expectation certainty, and better protect social well-being as well as the interests of investors across the world. Hong Kong will become a more attractive, vibrant and opportunity-rich world city,” he added.
New horizons
The plan envisages opening up new horizons and driving Hong Kong forward. Under Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong will focus on strengthening the four centres, developing the hub for high-calibre talent, consolidating and enhancing its competitive edge as an international city; expedite the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM) to spearhead spatial layout optimisation.
In the coming five years, Hong Kong will continue to consolidate and enhance ‘four centres and one hub’, that is to consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial, maritime, and trade centre, and an international aviation hub, while expediting the city’s development into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre, and building an international hub for high-calibre talent, attracting global capital, talent, and financial enterprises.
To consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial centre, Hong Kong will strengthen its roles as a global offshore Renminbi business hub, an international asset and wealth management centre, and an international risk management centre, while developing a commodity trading ecosystem and aligning financial services with the needs of the real economy.
Strengthening synergy
As an international maritime centre, Hong Kong will stabilise its container throughput, add value and strengthen synergy, driving a ‘volume to value’ transformation of the Hong Kong Port through developing a high value-added maritime service ecosystem.
To enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international aviation hub, it will deeply engage in the development of the national aviation network and continue to launch new routes. Hong Kong will also develop an aviation industry ecosystem with a global edge and build Hong Kong into the Asia-Pacific hub for innovative low-altitude applications.
As an international trade centre, Hong Kong will continue to uphold free trade, maintain a zero custom tariff, and support the rules-based multilateral trading system. Hong Kong will continue to expand its international economic and trade network, develop a high value-added supply chain services centre, continuously pursue the comprehensive upgrade of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), and develop digital trade as well as cross-border e-commerce.
For the development of an international I&T centre, Hong Kong will press full steam ahead with the development of the new ‘three major I&T parks and five key research and development institutions’ paradigm. The three major I&T parks—the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone and San Tin Technopole, the Science Park, and Cyberport, will form the “north-central-south” development paradigm in Hong Kong.
Strategic frontier technologies
In alignment with the core areas of strategic frontier technologies in the country and Hong Kong, the five key research and development institutions (the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, the Hong Kong Microelectronics Research and Development Institute, the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute and the Life and Health Technology Research Institute) will enhance Hong Kong’s public research system and the efficacy of its I&T framework.
To develop an international hub for high-calibre talent, Hong Kong will promote the integrated development of education, technology, and talent, by which it will cultivate and attract talent for technological innovation and industry development, aligning with national strategic needs. At the same time, Hong Kong will establish the ‘Study in Hong Kong’ brand, attracting and retaining non-local talent.
Hong Kong will continue to leverage its advantages as an international city. With the unique edge as a common law jurisdiction under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, Hong Kong will deepen the efforts to develop the city into a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services, a hub for high-calibre legal talent, and a global capital of mediation.
New engine
The Northern Metropolis is a new engine for Hong Kong to develop new quality productive forces. It is also a main platform for Hong Kong to deeply participate in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and to actively integrate into and serve the overall national development.
A blissful, vibrant and innovative metropolis will be developed through an approach that is planning-oriented, infrastructure-led, industry-driven, and people-oriented, with the NM University Town, I&T, industry, and an environment suitable for living, work, and travel as the development objectives.
The Government will develop the San Tin, Hung Shui Kiu, and Ta Kwu Ling University Towns based on the development concept of ‘One Town, Five Elements’—education, technology, industry, talent, and urban development. Each university town comprises a campus area, a technology area, an industry area, and a living community area, forming a hub for talent development.
Hard connectivity
Hong Kong will continue to deepen its participation in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong will continue to promote the ‘hard connectivity’ of infrastructure, including cross-boundary railway projects. It will foster ‘soft connectivity’ by deepening the alignment of rules and mechanisms, such as facilitating the mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and facilitating a cross-boundary flow of factors.
The ultimate objective of governance lies in enhancing social well-being. The dedicated part in Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan sets out clearly the strategic direction in livelihood-related areas such as education, youth and women’s development, a harmonious and inclusive society, health care, housing, strengthened support for the disadvantaged groups, labour protection, elderly care and green transformation.
“The Government will stay committed to the people-oriented ethos, strive relentlessly to enhance social well-being, and sustain economic development, so as to build a Hong Kong that is more open, more inclusive, more liberal, more prosperous and safer,” concluded Lee.
