A Gateway to China
Economic ties between Hong Kong and the Mainland are stronger than ever. The flow of goods, services, people and capital between the two places, and between the Mainland and the world through Hong Kong, have been flourishing alongside the continued reform and opening up of the Mainland. The vibrant activities have brought significant mutual benefits to both Hong Kong and the Mainland.
With its total merchandise trade surging from US$10 billion in 2001 to US$6.1 trillion in 2021, the Mainland plays a prominent role in driving global economic growth. Hong Kong has benefited substantially from the Mainland’s remarkable external trade growth.
With the enactment of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) on 1st January 2004, local and international companies and individuals based in Hong Kong enjoyed more preferential opportunities of doing business on the Mainland. In December 2011, the HKSAR Government and the Central People’s Government signed Supplement VIII to CEPA, introducing a total of 32 services liberalisation and trade and investment facilitation measures, which include 23 liberalisation measures in 16 service sectors, and strengthen co-operation in areas of finance, tourism, innovation and technology etc. Inclusive of the measures in Supplement VIII, Hong Kong service providers can enter the Mainland market in 47 service sectors under preferential treatment. On 21 November 2019, the Mainland and Hong Kong signed the Agreement Concerning Amendment to the CEPA Agreement on Trade in Services. New liberalisation measures were introduced in a number of important services sectors such as financial services, legal services, construction and related engineering services, testing and certification, television, motion pictures and tourism services, including measures for pilot implementation in the nine Pearl River Delta municipalities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). These measures further assist Hong Kong business community to establish enterprises and expand business, and allow more Hong Kong professionals to register and practise in the Mainland. (For the most update figures, please visit: https://www.tid.gov.hk/english/cepa/index.html)
