HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s chief introduced plans Wednesday to hurry up growth of an financial powerhouse close to its border with mainland China and nurture industries starting from synthetic intelligence to greater schooling as the town seeks new financial development engines to take care of its worldwide competitiveness.
Chief Government John Lee is below strain to tell apart Hong Kong from regional rivals and mainland Chinese language metropolises after a yearslong crackdown on democracy activism and Beijing’s tightening grip tainted the town’s picture as a free-wheeling monetary middle.
“My final goal in governance is to enhance folks’s livelihood,” he stated. “The well-being of our folks is interwined with the well being of our financial system. Financial development is the inspiration of bettering livelihood.”
In his annual coverage deal with, Lee stated he’ll lead a committee on growing the Northern Metropolis, an ongoing undertaking that envisions constructing a brand new IT hub and a college city close to the Chinese language tech hub of Shenzhen. It goals to supply 650,000 jobs and home 2.5 million folks. The event proposal was first floated in 2021 by his predecessor Carrie Lam.
The federal government would devise a variety of financing schemes and introduce laws to empower the federal government to simplify procedures for points comparable to organising industrial park corporations and rushing up constructing plan approvals, Lee stated.
The town’s gross home product is estimated to have grown 3.1% within the second quarter of 2025, supported by sturdy exports and improved home demand. For the primary half of this yr, Hong Kong ranked first globally in funds raised by way of preliminary public choices as a wave of Chinese language corporations sought to list in Hong Kong below U.S.-China tensions.
However vacant outlets stay in varied areas. Retail gross sales between January and July this yr noticed a drop. Eating places have closed. The droop stemmed from vacationers spending much less and plenty of residents opting to spend weekends on mainland China for cheaper and extra numerous choices. The town’s newest unemployment fee was 3.7%.
A spotlight of Lee’s insurance policies was bolstering rising industries in a metropolis the place conventional strengths lie within the monetary and authorized service sectors.
Growing the bogus intelligence and information science trade was a spotlight. The federal government plans to place up for tender a 10-hectare (24.7-acre) website this yr for constructing a knowledge facility cluster and launching an AI analysis and growth institute subsequent yr.
Different sectors Lee needs to develop included pharmaceutical and medical merchandise and new energies.
Hong Kong is also vying to change into a well-liked greater schooling hub. It has been stepping up efforts in current months, particularly after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump pressed colleges to limit the number of worldwide college students and elevated scholar visa scrutiny.
Lee’s administration would additional enhance enrollment ceilings for worldwide college students of government-funded universities starting within the subsequent educational yr and earmark new websites for building of scholar hostels, he stated.
Individually, the College Grants Committee would earmark 40 million Hong Kong {dollars} (about $5 million) to assist eight publicly funded universities in enhancing their publicity and recruitment of academics and college students outdoors Hong Kong.
Lee, a former safety chief, fulfilled Beijing’s long-standing crucial to enact a homegrown national security law final yr. Officers stated the legislation and a China-imposed safety legislation have been vital for the town’s stability following huge anti-government protests in 2019.
To step up patriotic schooling, he stated the town would work with Shenzhen, a close-by mainland Chinese language metropolis, to advertise a “new pink instructional route” to assist Hong Kongers and vacationers higher perceive the town’s historical past in World Struggle II. Earlier this month, Beijing held a military parade to mark the eightieth anniversary of the tip of World Struggle II.
