在特朗普對中國發動關稅戰之際，由特首李家超領導的代表團赴浙江省進行為期四天的訪問，此行對香港具有重要的科技、經濟和政治意義。
代表團成員還包括政務司司長陳國基、財政司副司長黃偉綸、政制及內地事務局局長曾國衞、商務及經濟發展局局長丘應樺、房屋局局長何永賢、創新科技及工業局局長孫東教授、民政及青年事務局局長麥美娟等，他們參與當中部分行程，而行政長官辦公室主任葉文娟亦隨行。
浙江之旅首站為省會杭州，4月22日代表團參觀了浙江大學科技創新中心及出席浙江香港商會舉辦的晚宴，期間與在浙江投資的香港企業家交流。李表示香港企業應發揮優勢，幫助浙江企業「走出去」、吸引外資，推動兩地高品質發展。他指出，香港與浙江在創新科技領域加強交流互鑑，國家發展一定會突破。他還提到約4000名浙江大學畢業生透過「高才通」計劃獲准在港工作。
訪問杭州六小龍 觀摩機器人公司
行程第二天，李家超一行人走訪「杭州六小龍」，即深度求索（DeepSeek）、遊戲科學、宇樹科技、雲深處、強腦科技和群核科技等六家知名科創公司。
期間李家超與宇樹科技創始人王興興座談，並觀摩了該公司先進的機器人技術演示，包括機器狗、人形機器人以及尚未發布的拳擊機器人原型機。王興興表示，宇樹已經在港開展業務，並看到了更多合作機會。
隨後，李家超代表團出席浙港合作會議，兩地政府確定了13個合作領域、51個項目，包括金融、航空、共建一帶一路等。浙江省委書記王浩、港澳辦副主任周霽亦有出席，周霽在會上表示儘管面臨美國的貿易和關稅壓力，香港一直堅持國際法、多邊貿易規則以及世貿組織認可的、全球認可的單獨關稅區地位。
香港可扮演浙企對外聯繫人
黃偉綸致詞時表示，為了盡量降低在美上市的中國內地企業的風險，香港已準備好歡迎中國企業回流，以香港作為首選的新上市地點。黃指出香港人民幣離岸中心管理全球約80%的離岸人民幣支付，是浙江企業與世界各地企業之間的「超級聯繫人」。他向與會者強調，香港是全球四大新股市場，新股籌集的資金超過870億港元。港交所現有超過100家新上市申請正在進行，顯示企業對股市信心強勁。黃偉綸的演講明顯是為了吸引浙江企業來港投資和上市。
李家超結束了代表團造訪浙江的行程，並與12家寧波公司簽署了投資協議，投資領域涉及航空、技術和供應鏈管理等領域。這些交易包括與力勤資源（Lygend Resources）等公司建立合作夥伴關係，力勤資源是一家在香港上市的鎳生產商，對電動車電池至關重要。
首先，從技術上來說，香港特區可以多學習浙江高新科技企業的先進技術，加強合作，爭取浙江高新科技企業來港投資，吸引浙江高新科技企業來港上市。這樣，香港的北部都會區就能更有效地發展成為高科技樞紐，特別是港澳辦主任夏寶龍今年2月參觀了河套深港科技創新合作區香港園區。如果港澳辦主任高度重視北部都會區的高科技發展，那麼李家超一行在未來幾年訪問浙江，爭取企業投資，加強雙方合作，是明智和具有戰略意義的。
中港共同應對美國經濟戰
在中美關稅戰下，浙江之行可以被視為中港共同應對美國經濟戰的舉措，這意味着在中國不但對美方極限施壓的關稅政策採取強硬態度，而且香港亦肩負起維護國際貿易秩序的重責。香港可以為那些在美國上市或經營、正在考慮撤出當地的中國企業，提供一個安全閥。對於這些內地企業在一帶一路沿線國家尋找新市場以及新股上市地而言，香港都是一個理想的選擇。
綜上所述，李家超代表團訪浙之旅具有重要的科技、經濟和政治意義。在技術上，香港可以利用浙江企業的高科技知識，爭取浙江企業對香港新界北部都會區高科技發展的支持。經濟方面，這次訪問正在深化中港經濟的融合，將融合的目標從大灣區延伸到更深的浙江省。從政治角度看，美國對華關稅戰令香港更快、更深地融入中國內地，意味深化香港對內聯繫的角色。
John Lee’s visit to Zhejiang and its techno-economic and political significance
The 4-day visit of the Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee to Zhejiang province has important technological, economic and political significance for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) at a historical moment when the US under the second Donald Trump administration is initiating a tariff war against China.
The delegation included Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki; Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun; Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai; Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah; Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin; Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong; Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen; and also Director of the Chief Executive’s Office Carol Yip Man-kuen.
The delegation arrived in Hangzhou as the first stop on April 22. John Lee and his officials went to visit a scientific and technological innovation centre at Zhejiang University. Writing on social media, John Lee said he was impressed by how the technological hub facilitated collaboration between the industry, educational sector and research. This nexus between the industry, education and research sectors, according to Lee, could help China’s technological advancement – a nexus that can also be learnt and strengthened by the HKSAR.
Lee revealed that some 4,000 Zhejiang University graduates were approved to work in the HKSAR under the Top Talent Pass Scheme. He attended a dinner hosted by the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Zhejiang, chatting with the Hong Kong entrepreneurs who invested and operated their business there. Lee said that the HKSAR companies should showcase their strengths and help their Zhejiang counterparts to go global and to attract foreign investment, while fostering high-quality development between the two regions. He pointed to the unique strength of Hong Kong as a home to multiple world-class universities ranked among the global top 100, thereby fostering a robust pool of talents for cutting-edge research in Hong Kong. John Lee called for more mutual exchanges and mutual learning in innovation and technology between Hong Kong and Zhejiang, adding that there will be breakthroughs in national development.
On the second day of the visit, John Lee and his delegation went to Unitree Robotics, a prominent Chinese robotics company and one of Hangzhou’s “six little dragons” tech start-ups (DeepSeek, Game Science, Unitree Robotics, Deep Robotics, BrainCo and Manycore Tech). He discussed with Unitree founder Wang Xingxing and observed the demonstrations of the company’s advanced robotic technology, including robotic dogs, humanoid robots and an unreleased boxing robot prototype.
Wang Xingxing said that Unitree, which is famous for its affordable and high-performance robots, has already conducted business in Hong Kong and that the company sees more opportunities for cooperation. The 34-year-old Wang was one of the new technology executives who met President Xi Jinping in February 2025. Wang was arranged to sit in the front row facing President Xi and is one of the youngest high-tech entrepreneurs in China.
Later, John Lee’s delegation attended the Hong Kong-Zhejiang Cooperation Conference, marking the establishment of a new cooperative mechanism between the two regions. During the plenary session, the two governments identified thirteen areas for cooperation, covering fifty-one projects. These include finance, aviation, and the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative. Four cooperative agreements were signed, covering housing development, technological innovation, economic and trade collaboration, and youth development.
The conference attracted over six hundred prominent businesspeople from the areas of finance, supply chain, innovation and technology, and professional services.
Lee said in his speech that the new mechanism had brought the cooperation between Zhejiang and the HKSAR to a new height. He added: “We will work together to promote high-quality trade development, utilising Hong Kong’s advantages as an international trade centre and multinational supply chain hub, along with Zhejiang’s strengths in digital economy.”
John Lee stressed that Hong Kong’s unique access to the mainland under the “one country, two systems” framework makes it an ideal place for Zhejiang investors to diversify their business away from the US where the risks for foreign investment have increased.
He also added that Hong Kong has extensive international trade experiences, diverse talent pool, and world-class professional services, which all can and will empower mainland companies to tap the emerging markets and navigate the US-led containment efforts against China. The HKSAR is speeding up the development of emerging industries such as life and health technology, AI and robotics, areas that according to John Lee can be developed in constructive collaboration with Zhejiang.
Zhejiang provincial party-secretary Wang Hao, and Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Zhou Ji, also attended the Hangzhou meeting. Zhou Ji told the conference that despite the US trade and tariff pressure, Hong Kong has been upholding international law, multilateral trade regulations, and WTO-recognised separate customs territory status with global recognition. His remarks were an indirect criticism of the US tariff war while the HKSAR maintains the liberal international trade order.
Hong Kong’s Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong also delivered a speech, saying that to minimise the risks for US-listed mainland Chinese firms, Hong Kong is ready to welcome and embrace the returning Chinese companies as a preferred new listing destination. Hong Kong’s commitment to a liberal trade order may attract Chinese companies originally listed in the US seeking a safer retreat.
Wong also added that Hong Kong can leverage its global trade networks to help businesses to look for markets in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – an appeal to mainland companies that can use the HKSAR as a stepping stone to be more internationalised by targeting other BRI countries.
Wong pointed to the Hong Kong renminbi offshore centre as the HKSAR is managing about 80 per cent of the global offshore renminbi payments – a “super-connector” that can play a crucial role between the firms in Zhejiang and the world. He appealed to the conference participants by stressing Hong Kong as the world’s top four IPO markets with funds raised through initial public offerings that exceeded HK$87 billion. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited has over one hundred listing applications in progress, indicating strong corporate confidence in the stock market. Wong’s speech clearly aimed at attracting the investment and listing of Zhejiang companies in the HKSAR.
John Lee and his delegation visited an optics firm in Ningbo, established by a late Hong Kong entrepreneur, where many Hong Kong businessmen found success. In 2024, President Xi wrote a letter to the Ningbo businesspeople in Hong Kong to encourage them to play a more active role in Hong Kong’s integration into China.
Lee posted on social media that his visit to Chao Kuang-piu’s company highlighted the entrepreneurial spirit of contributing to China’s modernisation through industrial development. Specifically, Chao’s company produced microscopic equipment and later optical components for the usage in space. John Lee and his delegation had tea with the Ningbo entrepreneurs and explored how Hong Kong and Zhejiang could and would cooperate further. He stressed that the HKSAR serves as a platform for mainland firms to be more globalised.
John Lee wrapped up his delegation’s visit to Zhejiang by securing investment agreements with 12 Ningbo-based companies that ranged from aviation to technology and to supply chain management. The deals included partnerships with firms such as Lygend Resources – a Hong Kong-listed nickel producer vital to the batteries of Electric Vehicles.
John Lee’s visit to Zhejiang province is notably significant.
First, technologically speaking, the HKSAR can learn more from the advanced technological knowhow of Zhejiang’s high-tech companies, enhancing cooperation, seeking their investment in Hong Kong, and luring them to be listed in the HKSAR. In this way, Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis can and will be developed more effectively as a high-tech hub, especially as Xia Baolong, the Director of the Hong Kong Macau Affairs Office, in February visited the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone. If the HKMAO Director attaches high importance to high-tech development in the Northern Metropolis, it was wise and strategic for John Lee and his delegation to visit Zhejiang, secure its companies’ investment, and enhance mutual collaboration in the coming years.
Second, given that Xia Baolong in February expressed his hope that Hong Kong should accelerate its integration with the Greater Bay Area, so as John Lee’s remarks following Xia’s visit to Shenzhen, the Zhejiang visit represented a closer techno-economic integration between the HKSAR and the mainland. The participation of seven principal officials in this delegation to Zhejiang was unprecedented, illustrating the high degree of importance of the visit.
Third, under the context of US-China tariffs war, the Zhejiang visit could be seen as a joint Hong Kong and China response to the US economic pressure, meaning that while China remains resistant and adamant to the escalating tariffs from the US side, the HKSAR has an important function of maintaining the liberal trade international order. As such, the HKSAR can provide a safety valve for those Chinese companies, which are listed or operating in the US and which are toying with the idea of withdrawal from the US. Hong Kong represents an ideal location for these mainland Chinese companies in terms of finding new markets in the BRI countries, and of listing in the Hong Kong stock markets.
Fourth, the Chinese government report delivered in the National People’s Congress in March emphasised that both Hong Kong and Macau should strengthen their “internal connections and external interactions.” As such, the delegation’s visit to Zhejiang represented the consolidation of “internal connections” by utilising the rich resources and full support of mainland China in the development of Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems.” The aspect of “external interactions” was stressed in John Lee and Michael Wong’s speeches in that Hong Kong can and will provide a gateway for mainland Chinese companies to be more internationalised. Hence, the role of Hong Kong as a traditional window for mainland Chinese companies has not been diminished. Rather, such a role as a gateway to the international world away from the US orbit has been even strengthened by the US tariff war launched on China.
In conclusion, the visit of John Lee and his high-level delegation to Zhejiang is technologically, economically, and politically significant. Technologically, the HKSAR can tap the high-tech knowhow of the Zhejiang companies, secure their support for Hong Kong’s high-tech development in the Northern Metropolis, and provide a super-connector for them to be more internationalised along the Belt and Road countries. Economically speaking, the visit is deepening Hong Kong’s economic integration with the mainland, moving the integration target beyond the Greater Bay Area and penetrating deeper into the Zhejiang province where the Ningbo entrepreneurs have been phenomenally successful in their business ventures in Hong Kong. Politically, the US tariffs war on China has now an unintended consequence, namely accelerating Hong Kong’s faster and deeper integration into mainland China on the one hand and deepening the HKSAR’s “internal connections” on the other hand.
原刊於澳門新聞通訊社（MNA）網站，本社獲作者授權轉載。（原文按此）
