More than 310 enterprises from mainland China and abroad have established or expanded operations in Hong Kong so far in 2026, bringing in more than HK$26 billion (US$3.3 billion) in capital in their first year of operation, according to the government agency tasked with attracting foreign investment.
Lau said in a radio interview that the market generally expected Sino-US relations to stabilise for a while before a potential visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States in September.
“The days of the US looking at China simply as a cheap manufacturing hub – or the world must cater to the American market – are over. That shift started more than a year ago, and there’s no going back,” she said.
“The global community has widened its perspective. Countries across Southeast Asia, Africa and beyond now recognise the need to ramp up trade and deepen ties with China, driving a broader surge in multilateral and bilateral partnerships worldwide.”
The Xi-Trump summit in Beijing last week resulted in an agreement to establish a “constructive Sino-US relationship with strategic stability”.