National and commercial interests must go together, John Lee tells Hong Kong businesses
Hong Kong businesses must consider national interests while pursuing commercial deals, the city's leader has said, arguing that the two are not mutually exclusive.
In an interview with the Post as he marked three years in office, Chief Executive
John Lee Ka-chiu stressed the importance of local companies keeping national interests in mind while seeking profits.
Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Holdings has recently drawn the ire of Beijing over a controversial deal to sell its overseas ports to a consortium led by US investment giant BlackRock.
Without commenting directly on the controversy, Lee argued in general that commercial and national interests did not have to contradict each other.
'When you do business, you have the maximum freedom to pursue your own goals and foster capitalism,' Lee said.
'But at the same time, there are things that you don't want to hurt, because hurting those things will also hurt your business.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
28 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Beijing hoping for closer ties with Vatican after Pope Leo names first Chinese bishop
China said it was willing to promote better relations with the Vatican after the appointment of the first Chinese bishop under the new pope. On Wednesday, the Vatican said Pope Leo had named Joseph Lin Yuntuan, 73, as an auxiliary bishop in Fuzhou, capital of the southwestern province of Fujian, on June 5. The appointment continues an agreement reached under Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, that bishops must be approved by both sides. The announcement was made on the same day that Beijing recognised the appointment. The Vatican described Chinese recognition of the bishop as 'a further fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities' and 'a significant step in the diocese's communal journey', according to Vatican News. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: 'In recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained communication and enhanced understanding and mutual trust through constructive dialogue. 'With the joint efforts of both sides, the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops has been smoothly implemented.
South China Morning Post
33 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Tech war: Nvidia CEO says Huawei has everyone ‘covered' if US chip ban on China stays
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said his company's technology remained a generation ahead of those developed by China, but warned that Huawei Technologies was in a position to expand its semiconductor business should US chip curbs on China stay in place. Advertisement Ren, however, added that using methods like 'stacking and clustering [on Ascend-powered machines], the computing results are comparable' to the most advanced systems in the world. 'AI is a parallel problem, so if each one of the computers are not capable … just add more computers,' Huang said in response to a question about Ren's comments. 'What he's saying is that in China, [where] they have plenty of energy, they'll just use more chips.' 'He was saying that China's technology is good enough for China. If the United States doesn't want to participate in China, Huawei has got China covered,' Huang added. 'Huawei [also] has got everybody else covered.' Advertisement The 62-year-old Nvidia CEO's televised comments, made on the sidelines of the annual VivaTech conference in Paris, reflect his concerns about Huawei's growing AI chip capabilities, which he earlier raised during a closed-door meeting last month with the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hongkongers may have to pay higher tolls at Aberdeen Tunnel, Shing Mun Tunnels
Hongkongers may have to pay more to use the Aberdeen Tunnel and the Shing Mun Tunnels under a government proposal to raise tolls from HK$5 (64 US cents) to HK$8 to help recoup some of their hefty annual losses, the Post has learned. The tunnels' current flat fee of HK$5 for all vehicles has remained unchanged for 34 years. A source said on Thursday that authorities were planning to raise the toll to HK$8. The Shing Mun Tunnels recorded a deficit of HK$52 million in the 2023-24 financial year, while the Aberdeen Tunnel recorded a HK$16 million loss. The government's earlier forecasts indicated that the deficits would continue, with estimated shortfalls of HK$52 million and HK$21 million, respectively, this financial year. The source added that officials had also consulted legislators on toll options for the Yau Ma Tei tunnel section of the Central Kowloon Bypass, which is expected to open by the end of the year. Various options were being considered, including toll-free access and fees of HK$10 or HK$17.
