Net for foreign firms in Hong Kong cast wider by OASES
Advertisement
That is mostly thanks to the efforts of the government's Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES). Most of these companies, though, have been from the mainland. Recognising the need to diversify its pool of outside firms, OASES officials are off to Europe, especially the United Kingdom and France.
They have picked an opportune moment to promote the city. When OASES was set up in 2022, there were concerns its work would be hampered by geopolitical tensions between China and the West. This was especially so with hostile rhetoric frequently coming from leaders of the European Union and the UK against Beijing.
But the return of Donald Trump to the White House and his less sympathetic stance have forced many European leaders to reassess their positions vis-a-vis China. They now need to hedge against an uncooperative, perhaps even hostile Washington not only geopolitically but also economically. France under President Emmanuel Macron has enjoyed good ties with China. Taking over from the less friendly Conservative government, British Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks willing to reboot bilateral relations.
In this changed climate, OASES has its work cut out with those two countries, and Europe as a whole. Both sides need to recalibrate their business and strategic relations with Washington. And it is not just Europe. OASES is casting its net widely over the Middle East as well as countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative in Asia and Africa.
Advertisement
While Beijing is building on global goodwill and promoting industries from artificial intelligence to 5G telecommunications worldwide, the US is sounding more confrontational by the day. Hong Kong can ride on this momentum. As a springboard to the tech-oriented Greater Bay Area and beyond, it's time for our city to welcome the world back and shine again.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump considers ‘major lawsuit' against Powell over renovations, again urges rate cut
US President Donald Trump said he is considering allowing a lawsuit to proceed against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the renovation of the central bank's headquarters, a project whose cost overruns have drawn scrutiny. Trump, in a social media post on Tuesday, resumed his criticism of the Fed chair over the central bank's decision to hold interest rates steady and again hammered Powell over the renovation work. 'The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable. Fortunately, the economy is sooo good that we've blown through Powell and the complacent Board,' Trump said. 'I am, though, considering allowing a major lawsuit against Powell to proceed because of the horrible, and grossly incompetent, job he has done in managing the construction of the Fed Buildings.' Trump did not specify which lawsuit he was referring to in his post. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Powell this year over the Fed's decisions to keep interest rates steady since its last cut in December. Renovation work continues at the US Federal Reserve building. Photo: AFP Policymakers have been cautiously monitoring the effects of Trump's wide-ranging tariffs on the world's biggest economy, as they mulled the right time to lower rates further.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Quad alliance risks unravelling as Trump strains ties with India and Japan
Beijing must be watching with satisfaction as US President Donald Trump has, in less than 200 days, come close to unravelling one of the few foreign policy legacies of his first term: the fragile coalition countering China in the Indo-Pacific. Advertisement The rationale behind Trump's deliberate straining of ties with India and Japan – two of Washington's most vital regional partners in balancing Beijing – through tariffs, sanctions threats and incendiary rhetoric remains opaque, likely driven more by domestic political posturing than strategic coherence. Yet the damage is both tangible and potentially lasting, placing the strategic viability of the Quad –Washington's four-way military pact with Japan, India and Australia – under the most severe test since its revival in 2017. At the same time, it has bolstered perceptions among authoritarian regimes that the US is in terminal decline. Since April, Trump has slapped 25 per cent 'reciprocal tariffs' on India and threatened an additional 25 per cent in secondary sanctions over its continued imports of Russian oil, effectively raising duties to 50 per cent. While the US leader claimed on Monday that the steep tariffs had dealt a 'big blow' to Moscow's beleaguered economy, the move has plunged US-India relations to their lowest point since 1998, when Delhi conducted its nuclear tests and faced an international backlash. Advertisement Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who skilfully navigated relations with Trump during his first term and was among the first foreign leaders to visit the White House following Trump's return, was clearly taken aback by the tariffs and the US leader's overtures to India's arch-rival, Pakistan.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump extends US-China tariff truce, Xi and Lula talk: SCMP daily highlights
Catch up on some of SCMP's biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending by 90 days the US's tariff truce with China, removing the risk of an immediate escalation hours before the ceasefire was set to expire, but leaving trade relations fragile. Trump said on Monday that he had personally negotiated a deal with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, letting the tech giant sell a lower-end chip in China in exchange for part of those sales revenues being paid to the US government. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke by phone for about an hour. Photo: Reuters Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has spoken by phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for about an hour, in a high-level contact aimed at reinforcing ties with Brazil's largest trading partner while confronting a sudden rupture in trade relations with the United States.
