HK pivots to Asean, Belt and Road partners as ties with the West deteriorate

Hong Kong Correspondent HONG KONG Hong Kong has intensified efforts to carve out international space for itself, especially among developing economies, as it increasingly comes under fire from the West for its governance.

- Magdalene Fung

Chief Executive John Lee on Sept 13 said his government was doing everything it could to strengthen ties with Asean, including improving trade, business and cultural links with the regional bloc.

On Sept 11, he talked up Hong Kong's value to the world as a “super connector", touting its pivotal role in inking deals with countries in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as Beijing said it would expand the city's scope of participation in the initiative.

Mr Lee's speeches came after the United States on Sept 11 passed a Bill targeting the closure of Hong Kong's trade offices in the country and on Sept 6 warned US businesses and individuals of the rising risks of operating in the city under its national security law.

Hundreds of activists have been arrested and dozens charged under the regulations, which criminalise treason, sedition and external interference, among other offences.

Mr Lee on Sept 14 warned that US businesses would "foot the bill" for their "very shameless and ugly political tactics" if they shut Hong Kong's trade offices in America.

Separately, Britain on Sept 12 said in a parliamentary report on Hong Kong that the city had prioritised national security over the freedoms and rights of its residents.

The growing criticism from the West that Hong Kong has faced in recent years has contributed to a fresh urgency within Mr Lee's administration to improve its ties with the rest of the world.

"In the past, Hong Kong used to target the developed world more in its external relations efforts, such as reaching out to the US and countries in Europe," Dr Wilson Chan, director of policy research and co-founder of local think-tank Pagoda Institute, told The Sunday Times.