US business leaders eye Hong Kong as ‘springboard’ to mainland China, Asia American business leaders are looking to use Hong Kong as a “springboard” for tapping markets in mainland China and Asia despite geopolitical tensions amid a wider reassessment of Chinese technological innovation, the city’s finance chief has said. Reflecting on his trip to New York and Washington last week, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also said on Sunday that his exchanges would “lay the foundation” for further cooperation with the United States, even as Hong Kong got caught up in the rivalry. Outside the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Chan also took part in the annual dinner of the National Committee on US-China Relations, discussions with fund managers in New York, a round-table meeting with the Atlantic Council think tank, and a lunch organised by the US-China Business Council. Writing on his weekly blog, Chan said that he had briefed participants at the various events on Hong Kong’s latest developments, including in innovation and technology, the Northern Metropolis megaproject, and deepening integration within the Greater Bay Area. “During the exchanges, many local business partners expressed that the leapfrog development demonstrated by mainland enterprises in various fields of innovation and technology this year has led them to reassess China’s technological capabilities,” he said. Biomedicine in particular had emerged as a key area for expanded collaboration, as human health “transcends national borders and geopolitics”, Chan said. They also hoped to use Hong Kong, with its familiar institutional framework and market environment, as a “springboard” to explore mainland and Asian markets and identify new opportunities for collaboration, he added. “These exchanges will lay the foundation for further cooperation with the United States in the areas of trade, investment and finance,” Chan said. Hong Kong’s stock market has seen a resurgence as funds have once again begun pouring back into the city, following a phase in which international investors had written off mainland stocks as “uninvestible”. Funds raised from initial public offerings in the city jumped 220 per cent year on year to US$23.3 billion in the first nine months of 2025, strengthening its position at the top of the global rankings. But tensions between the world’s two largest economies have also flared up again after a lull over new rare earth restrictions and reciprocal port fees, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten a new 100 per cent tariff increase on Chinese goods. Hong Kong companies have also been targeted. Last week, a US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, moved to revoke HKT International’s licence to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns. HKT International is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based PCCW. Chan said that during his meetings, there was a general consensus that maintaining stable relations between Washington and Beijing was not only beneficial for the two countries but also “crucial for the future” of the global economy. The global economy had also demonstrated a “degree of resilience” in the face of trade conflicts, and new opportunities were emerging, he said. “In recent years, Hong Kong has made significant progress in finance, innovation and technology, and attracting investment and talent, consistently achieving strong results in various international rankings,” Chan added. “This first-hand introduction will provide the local business community and think tanks with a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Hong Kong’s situation and opportunities, fostering the exploration of more mutually beneficial collaborations.” https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3329559/us-business-leaders-eye-hong-kong-springboard-mainland-china-asia (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post