Hong Kong eyes position as regional center for legal services

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By CGTN's He Weiwei

Hong Kong is seeking to put its international legal expertise to good use and provide much needed services for companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

The legal seminar to celebrate 20 years since HK returned to China was held in Shenzhen on July 9, 2017. /CGTN Photo

Officials from China's foreign ministry and the HK SAR government attended on Sunday a legal seminar held in Shenzhen.

After its return to China, Hong Kong planned to make itself a regional center for legal services and dispute resolution, and that initiative has received strong support from the central government.

Interview with Xu Hong, Director-General of Treaty and Law Department of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. /CGTN Photo

"China's central government contributed to the Hague Conference on Private International Law's decision to establish its first Asia-Pacific regional office in Hong Kong in 2012," said Xu Hong, Director-General of Treaty and Law Department of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The central government has given full support to the office's operation."

The Hague Conference on Private International Law is a leading intergovernmental organization in the world for cross-border cooperation in civil and commercial issues.

Rimsky Yuen Kwok-Keung, Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice delivers a speech at the seminar. / CGTN Photo

Mainland companies have been expanding their overseas investment and cross-border business, and that move requires a better understanding of International Trade Investment Law and risk control -- a service Hong Kong wants to provide.

"Hong Kong enjoys the advantage of a very extensive enforcement network," Rimsky Yuen Kwok-Keung, Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice told CGTN.

"In this globalized world, sometimes you have disputes with companies that may have assets and properties in many other jurisdictions. And our enforcement network will give you the advantage of enforcing it in different jurisdictions."

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C, rear) attends the signing ceremony of the framework agreement on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in Hong Kong, south China, on July 1, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

On July 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of a framework agreement on deepening cooperation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which includes the target of turning Hong Kong to a regional legal services and dispute resolution center.

At the seminar, many expressed belief that Hong Kong's experience in legal affairs and cooperation with the mainland will contribute to the area's development.

They also discussed a wide range of legal issues such as new opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative for Hong Kong's legal services sector, importance of continuous enforcement of the "One Country, Two systems" principle and the Basic Law.

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Deal signed to promote Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao cooperation