Attracted by Hong Kong's great autonomy, dynamic culture, historical legacy, and entrepreneurship, high-profile scholar Li Cheng chose to move to Hong Kong and founded the Centre on Contemporary China and the World (CCCW) at the University of Hong Kong.
"I used my feet to show my confidence in this great city," Li told GDToday in an exclusive interview. He believes that the "one country, two systems" policy, along with its great autonomy, dynamic culture, historical legacy, cosmopolitan city, and entrepreneurship, make Hong Kong unique.
China's decision to join CPTPP should be welcomed by the international community
Li said that China makes a major contribution to the global economy. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.2 percent year on year in 2023. The country's GDP reached a record of 126.06 trillion yuan (about 17.71 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2023.
As China targets economic growth of around five percent in 2024, Li pointed out that "we should put it in a comparative perspective and look at China's five percent growth goal. We should look at China's strength and the confidence that the country wants to deliver to the Chinese people, and also to the entire world."
Li also mentioned that China's decision to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) shows that China wants to be a part of the global economy and support regional and global economic integration, which should be welcomed by the international community. He indicated that excluding the large economy of China from the international system is not good for the global community.
US decoupling and relocation of manufacturing industry will not work in the long run
"China is already a gigantic power when it comes to manufacturing," said Li. China is moving towards the high end of the supply chain with different products. The country also emphasizes high technology, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology-oriented products.
China accounted for 35 percent of the world value-added tech manufacturing sector; the United States and the European Union (EU) combined account for even less than that number.
Li stressed that the U.S.-led decoupling and relocation of industry will not restrict China in the long run. Eventually, the U.S.-led decoupling will stimulate China's indigenous development, as China is already a technology giant. He suggested that China could be a leader or co-leader in some fields such as electric vehicle (EV), biotechnology, and space exploration.
The Greater Bay Area is very dynamic in terms of consumption and has a big middle-class market
In Li's opinion, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is very dynamic.
"It's one of the ten most important economic technology clusters in the world. This is what Premier Li Qiang said about China's consumption, China's potential, and China's huge middle-class market," said Li.
Statistics show that 300,000 to half a million Hong Kong people came to Shenzhen or other cities in Guangdong for the weekend. Domestic travel statistics already surpassed the 2019 number. During the Spring Festival this year, nearly about 500 million people were on the road for domestic travel.
Reporter | Hannah, Cindy, Nina, Lydia
Script | Hannah, Xie Chunhong (intern)
Video shooting | Qin Shaolong
Video editing | Wingheng
Poster | Lulu
Editor | Olivia, Steven, Will, James
