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I&T in HK and Chinese economy, US-China top-level talks

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  • 🇨🇳🇺🇸 Chinese FM Wang Yi in Washington, Biden-Xi meeting “a step closer”?
  • 🕯️ Tributes to former Chinese premier Li Keqing, known for Liconomics
  • 📒 Chinese economy – a word of wisdom from the “godfather of emerging market”

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  • 🇭🇰 Innovation and Technology high on HK chief’s policy agenda, what else?

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Hot Topics

1. Wang Yi in Washington DC

A Biden-Xi meeting later this month appears to be “a step closer”, according to the Guardian. The US and China are working towards a top-level meeting between President Biden and President Xi  Jinping in San Francisco in November, possibly on the sideline of the APEC summit, a White House statement said.

Biden has invited Xi to the Apec summit, Xi has not yet confirmed whether he’d attend.

Wang met Biden and senior aides during his two-day visit to Washington last week, the latest in a series of high-level contacts between the two countries, after years of tensions. Wang said he wanted to “stabilise US-China relations” and “reduce misunderstanding”. Biden said the US and China must “manage competition in the relationship responsibly and maintain open lines of communication”.

The UK is trying, too, to revive trade talks and the potential return of the UK-China JETCO (joint economic and trade committee). British Chamber of Commerce in China (BritCham China) sees it as “a robust and proactive approach to engaging with China”, as Rachel Tsang, BritCham Managing Director, put it.

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2. Li Keqiang, 68, passed away

Two headlines caught wide attention as October drew to an end – former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang passed away at the age of 68, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Washington DC.

Former prime minister Li Keqiang died of a sudden heart attack shortly after midnight on Oct 27 in Shanghai, Xinhua reported. World leaders paid tributes to Li, a trained economist turned prime minister known for his pragmatic policies dubbed Likonomics. Outpouring of grief and condolence online and floral tributes at Li’s childhood home and key places in his career continued over the weekend.

“To many Chinese observers, Li often appeared to be the man in the middle sitting between the state and the private sector, trying to pull both sides together during his 10 years as premier until March 2023,” Breakingviews noted.

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3. Chinese economy – real estate, I&T and history

Chinese authorities made a series of policy moves to boost sentiment in the economy, media reports suggested. The government increased its headline deficit and unveiled a sovereign debt package by approving the sale of an extra 1trn-yuan ($137bn) of central-government bonds on October 24th.

This coincided with developer Country Garden being deemed to be in default on a dollar bond for the first time ever, underscoring its fall into distress amid the broader property debt crisis.

But the way investment guru Mark Mobius sees it, “when it comes to China, while its troubled real estate sector can’t be overlooked, its clear intent to invest in and dominate the tech industry suggests a nation ready to pivot and adapt”.

Mobius, dubbed as the Godfather of emerging markets, doesn’t think rescuing the property market is on the government’s priority list, though. Attention should be on, he wrote in his blog, “a palpable push towards establishing a top-tier tech industry, emphasising sectors like semiconductors and advanced technologies”.

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Insight

Zoom in on… HK: Vibrant Economy for a Caring Community

John Lee, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,  shared his vision for HK on 25 October when he delivered the second Policy Address of the current-term government. It’s called  “Vibrant Economy for a Caring Community”.

According to the objectives set out in the speech, HK will explore new growth potential with an industry-oriented approach.  Emerging strategic areas include innovation and technology (I&T), creative industries, pharmaceutical R&D, Chinese medicine and new energy transport. These are on top of reinforcing the city’s traditional sectors, such as finance, trading, logistics, shipping and professional services.

Detailed actions are planned to “trawl for enterprises, attract and retain talents”.

Recent local media reports offered a glimpse into the vision in action. SCMP reported 900 tech companies have been drawn to HK in the past 12 months, 20% of which from mainland China and overseas.

Crayfish has helped some tech clients to set up companies in HK, so if you are interested in tapping into what HK has to offer, do get in touch with us.

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