HK should take unique advantage under "One Country, Two Systems": HK Financial Secretary

cctv.com 03-10-2004 15:26

If Hong Kong can fully cash in on the unique advantage under "One Country, Two Systems" and enhance its competitiveness in the globalized economy, it will hold the key to a brighter future, said HongKong Financial Secretary Henry Tang.

Delivering the 2004/2005 budget report at the Legislative

Council on Mar.10 afternoon, Henry Tang said that "our motherland is currently the fastest-growing major economy in the world. Despite the effects of SARS, her economy registered strong growth of 9.1 percent last year. "

During the same period, China's GDP exceeded 1,400 billion US dollars, breaking through the 1,000 US dollar mark on a per capita basis and hitting a historical high, said Tang.

As China transforms herself into a nation in which everyone enjoys a reasonable standard of living, her economy should continue to grow steadily, and, looking forward, her GDP is expected to reach 4,000 billion US dollars by 2020, Tang said.

"Hong Kong can complement the strong economic growth of our motherland, and in the process contribute to the further opening-up and reform of our nation," said Tang.

Hong Kong should be alive to opportunities on the mainland, but at the same time, it should not lose sight of what the world at large has to offer. "Only with such breadth of mind and vision can we maintain our position as the best business platform for China and the rest of the world," Tang said.

These advantages flow from the principle of "One Country, Two Systems," said Tang.

He added that some may say that the Chinese Mainland/Hong Kong

Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) is a big present from the Central People's Government to Hong Kong, but as Premier Wen Jiabao remarked on his visit to Hong Kong last year, the greatest gift is actually the Central People's Government's unwavering commitment to implement "One Country, Two Systems. "

Editor:Wang  Source:Xinhua News Agency