To enhance the understanding of Hong Kong professional services on sustainable economic development of Hong Kong through understanding Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones (ETCZs) along the Belt and Road (B&R) countries, the Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones Along Belt and Road Workshop Series which was kick-started since January 2021, has finally come to a perfect end with a Closing Forum held on 12 March 2022.

Organised by the Research Centre for Sustainable Hong Kong (CSHK) of CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the workshop series is comprised of an Opening Symposium, six training workshops and a Closing Forum. The Opening Symposium and the Training Workshops were all successfully conducted in 2021. Almost 100 speakers, panel discussants and guests were involved to share their insights and interact with the participants, and a total of 1,476 online participants (85% were from Hong Kong and the rest were from 30 countries) attended the activities via Zoom. Various brochures and other materials were published during the workshop series, which received positive feedback from participants.  

The last event of this Series – the Closing Forum – is entitled “Meeting Points for Boundless Insights: the Ways Forward for Hong Kong Professional Services and Overseas Investments”. It aims at reviewing the main insights discussed at the Opening Symposium and six workshops and presenting analysis of workshop observations and surveys. Through exchange of ideas and sharing of analysis, possible recommendations were generated and further discussed to explore potential development opportunities. 

After the welcome and opening remarks by CSHK Director Professor Linda LI Che-lan, the forum began with CSHK’s presentations to conclude the discussion content of the workshops and compare the characteristics of the seven B&R countries (Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Djibouti and Belarus) from the perspectives of politics, economic development, environment, culture and religion, as well as transparency and communication, thereby indicating elements worth Hong Kong investors, professional services and corporations’ attention and consideration. Following the presentations were four sessions of roundtable discussion on different themes to facilitate knowledge transfer among scholars, managers, journalists, local business representatives, as well as professional service consultants and SOE representatives. In the last roundtable session, representatives from Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Hong Kong Productivity Council were invited to be the discussants to discuss and share views on support infrastructures and policies for facilitating Hong Kong businesses and professional services to explore business opportunities and develop collaborations overseas.

Nearly 200 participants from around the world attended the Closing Forum. The Forum is definitely a good wrap-up to conclude the findings and outcomes of the workshop series. Through heated discussion and enthusiastic interaction among participants, key stakeholders of ETCZs have gained deeper understanding on the competitive edges of Hong Kong professional services and business sectors; and explored potential development opportunities via exchange of ideas and sharing of analyses. The participants also have gained better knowledge about the current development, needs and opportunities of B&R countries.

For more information about the workshop series such as information of the project members, partnering organisations and Presentation PowerPoint from speakers, please visit CSHK’s website.