How could China & the UK facilitate trade through Hong Kong? Stephen Perry, Chairman of UK's 48 Group Club, shares his views on HK's evolving role in China-UK relations and the Greater Bay Area development. Perry also advocates for more understanding in his country.

Liu Xin: Do you see Hong Kong slowly being less of a point of difference between the two sides that Hong Kong can continue to play a vital role in business and trade relations between the two sides?

Stephen Perry: I think the British and Chinese did a great job for the return of Hong Kong to China. Some people tried to cause trouble at the time and in the lead-up to that 1997 date. But China has been committed to "one country, two systems." And I think I was shocked by the behaviors of some people in 2019, 2020 and (the Chinese central government) has had to take steps to work with the leaders of Hong Kong to stabilize Hong Kong and rebuild it in a new fashion as part of the Greater Bay Area.

Some people in our country have found that hard to accept. They have a problem which leads to some racism in our streets towards people of Asian background. It's very regrettable. People who oppose it do not have the full sense of history and transition. Hong Kong cannot be independent, and that is what they wanted. They wanted to encourage Hong Kong to be independent, and that caused some problems.

Now I think we are moving into a quieter period with foreign secretaries who are less inclined towards the right wing of the Tory Party and trying to find more stability. But it also depends on forces from outside the UK as to what happens in the world. I think the people of Hong Kong know that if they want better residential accommodation, better jobs, and better social welfare, they're going to get it from China (central government), and China (central government) is already taking steps in those directions. We can look on it, and we can say, as many British people do, that it's a pity that we didn't do more whilst we were the colonial rulers of Hong Kong. But we didn't, and we cannot change history. I think, more and more, the British people will move to that understanding.