'One Country, Two Systems' in international affairs

Editor's note: Alexandr Svetlicinii, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an Associate Professor of Global Legal Studies at the University of Macau, where he also serves as program coordinator for the Master of Law in International Business Law. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The concept of "One Country, Two Systems" was first announced by Deng Xiaoping on January 11, 1982, in the context of a proposal for a peaceful reunification with the Taiwan region. This principle was then embedded in Article 31 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (PRC), adopted by the National People's Congress on December 4, 1982. This provision provided for the establishment of the "special administrative regions" (SARs), which being part of "one country" would maintain their distinct "two systems" in terms of legal, social and economic organization. As the year 2024 marks the 42nd anniversary of this concept, we shall assess its manifestations in relation to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), the two regions having a unique status of non-sovereign actors in international affairs.

The Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macao authorize these two SARs to maintain and develop relations and conclude agreements with foreign states, regions and international organizations. For example, using the names "Hong Kong, China" and "Macao, China" respectively, the two SARs maintained their membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), which further guaranteed their openness towards international trade and access to their goods to the overseas markets. Since the WTO is open not only to states but also to the "separate customs territories," both Hong Kong and Macao enjoyed their continuous membership in this organization following the establishment of the SARs in 1997 and 1999, respectively.

Hong Kong has actively defended its trade interests making use of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. For example, in December 2022, it prevailed in a trade dispute with the United States, whereby the U.S. applied discriminatory treatment to products originating from Hong Kong by changing the indication of origin. The WTO panel found that such treatment is inconsistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Under the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, the Macao SAR has maintained its status as a free port abstaining from imposing tariffs on imported goods, making them more accessible to the local residents and visitors. As a result, it was not involved in any trade disputes with other WTO members, which prompted the comments of Macao being a "role model among the WTO members."

The Basic Laws of the two SARs authorize the establishment of semi-official economic and trade missions in foreign countries. Thus, Macao maintains economic and trade offices in Brussels, Lisbon, and Geneva, which foster the region's economic, social, and cultural exchanges with other countries. As for the Hong Kong SAR, it established 14 economic and trade offices in the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North America. 

In the international affairs that are reserved to the sovereign states, the PRC Central Government supports Hong Kong's and Macao's participation in various international treaties and agreements to which the PRC is a party. For example, in 1981 the PRC signed the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, which provides for application of the uniform rules to the sales contracts concluded between the parties located in different contracting states. At that time, the PRC had not yet resumed its exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and Macao, so the application of the Convention to these regions remained uncertain. Since Hong Kong has been actively engaged in international trade being a major port and financial center, the region's authorities have considered that it would be beneficial for Hong Kong businesses and its trading partners abroad to make use of the uniform rules applied to the cross-border sale of goods. The Central Government has supported this initiative and in May 2022 it notified the contracting states of the Convention that starting from December 1, 2022, the Convention would also be applied in Hong Kong.

The aforementioned examples demonstrate how the "One Country, Two Systems" principle has preserved a substantial autonomy of the two SARs in international affairs, allowing them to participate in international organizations and treaties that are open to non-sovereign actors. This has not only enhanced the international visibility of China's SARs but also contributed to their economic development and cultural exchanges.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)