LegCo's unshirkable responsibility of supporting national development

Editor's note: Decision Makers is a global platform for decision makers to share their insights on events shaping today's world. Hon Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen is the President of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The year 2025 signifies a pivotal period as our motherland concludes the 14th Five-Year Plan, while simultaneously gearing up to formulate the next five-year plan, which will guide the nation's economic and social trajectory from 2026 to 2030. Holding immense significance for advancing the modernization of our nation amid uncertainties in the global landscape and heightened geopolitical tensions, Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized the necessity of a forward-looking approach in formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan.

As part of the governing team of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Legislative Council (LegCo) has an unshirkable responsibility to support the formulation and implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, in a bid to turn the challenges into opportunities. This unwavering commitment is instrumental in fostering the high-quality development and improving the living standards of the people of our country, including those in Hong Kong.

Enhancing capacity to safeguard national security

On April 30, 2025, President Xi chaired a symposium in Shanghai and made an important instruction delineating the formulation of the next five-year plan. He said greater emphasis must be placed on coordinating development and security, while addressing both internal and external risks and challenges comprehensively, improving the national security system and enhancing the capacity to safeguard national security.

In complementing the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region promulgated by China's top legislature in June 2020, the HKSAR government and LegCo have been working hand in hand to fulfil our constitutional responsibility of enacting local legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law. After thorough deliberation in the legislature, LegCo members unanimously approved the Safeguarding National Security Bill in March 2024. Both pieces of legislation establish a comprehensive legal system and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong, laying a solid foundation for the city's long-term stability and prosperity.

Acutely aware of potential security risks, LegCo members are proactively advising the government on ways to improve the capacity to safeguard national security. This year, LegCo has effectively completed the scrutiny of two pieces of subsidiary legislation under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, aiming to provide specific details concerning the mandate of the Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS) and clearly defining the premises of OSNS in Hong Kong as prohibited places. Besides, the Protection of Critical Infrastructures (Computer Systems) Bill has also been passed in the legislature to enhance overall cybersecurity in Hong Kong and maintain the city's normal functioning amid the risks of cyberattacks.

These initiatives are imperative to ensure a safe and stable environment for Hong Kong's economic development. In fact, recent international indices have shown that Hong Kong's competitive edges are stronger than ever, as the city ranks among the top in terms of free economy, global financial center, rule of law, as well as clean and effective government. In the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2025 released by the International Institute for Management Development in June this year, Hong Kong has been named the third most globally competitive economy, climbing two places from last year and recapturing the world's top three places for the first time since 2019. In 2024, a record high of nearly 10,000 companies were based in Hong Kong with overseas or mainland parent companies, representing a 10 percent year-on-year increase and reaffirming the confidence shown by the business sector and investors in Hong Kong's economic prospects and business-friendly environment.

Giving priority to the strategic importance of new quality productive forces

President Xi has highlighted the importance of leveraging technological innovation as the driving force to develop new quality productive forces to advance the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and foster the growth of emerging sectors.

LegCo has long attached great importance to developing Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology (I&T) hub outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan, and has supported the government's policy initiatives in developing the Northern Metropolis to be a high-end professional services and logistics center, as well as an I&T zone in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park.

The Northern Metropolis is envisioned as a new engine for the city's future growth. The 30,000-hectare new development area, located at the city's northern border and connected to Shenzhen with seven land boundary control points, will serve as a catalyst for integrating Hong Kong into the national development. In the past two years, LegCo's Finance Committee (FC) approved several funding proposals directly related to infrastructure development in the Northern Metropolis, amounting to more than HK$100 billion ($12.74 billion). FC also approved various financial schemes to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's I&T industry and the research capability of related institutes.

During a Chief Executive's Interactive Exchange Question and Answer Session at LegCo in May this year discussing the issues of accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis, LegCo members eagerly called on the government to establish better governance to steer high-level development strategy and strengthen coordination with other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to facilitate seamless flow of talents, capital and goods.

To ensure the effective implementation of these initiatives, LegCo members will continue to closely monitor the progress of related development works, scrutinize relevant financial proposals diligently and efficiently and make recommendations to optimize the formulation of policies designed to attract investment and talents to Hong Kong, with a view to contributing to the overall development of our country's emerging sectors and promoting the development of the new quality productive forces.

Adapting to the changing international landscape and expanding the circle of friends

In light of complicated and ever-changing geopolitics, it is essential to continuously assess the impact of global developments on our country and seize every opportunity to communicate with our overseas partners.

LegCo members are committed to liaising and engaging with various sectors of other countries, expanding the circle of friends, and staying abreast of the changing international landscape. As LegCo President, I led LegCo delegations last year to conduct two overseas duty visits to three ASEAN member states – namely Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore – and Japan respectively. While the duty visits aimed to canvass support for Hong Kong's early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), LegCo members could directly and promptly clarify misunderstandings about Hong Kong to the officials and different sectors of overseas countries and take the opportunity to promote the importance of "One Country, Two Systems" in ensuring a stable and prosperous environment in Hong Kong for investment. In recent months, LegCo has also hosted a series of engagement events with the consuls-general in Hong Kong and official visitors from overseas countries to cultivate closer ties with them and explore further collaboration opportunities.

To combat the countercurrent of unilateralism and protectionism in the face of shocks to global order and economic globalization, fostering cooperation on all fronts with trustworthy and like-minded partners is paramount for the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. The HKSAR should leverage its distinctive advantage of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world to strengthen our role as "super connector" and "super value-adder," thereby facilitating international trade as well as multi-faceted exchanges and cooperation between the motherland and overseas countries.

As we celebrate the 28th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, it is a timely occasion for us to express our gratitude for the support of the central government provided to Hong Kong for our continuous development and sustained prosperity. More importantly, we have to embrace changes in the face of evolving challenges of the world and strive for innovative initiatives to promote sustainable and high-quality growth for our nation. By leveraging the diverse backgrounds of LegCo members, who bring a wealth of expertise and align with the interests of various sectors in Hong Kong society, I believe all our members are well-positioned to actively contribute to formulating the National 15th Five-Year Plan.

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