Sino-US relations and globalisation top the bill at China Conference in Hong Kong
There was plenty of lively debate at the South China Morning Post’s annual forum. Here are some of the highlights:
The growing rivalry between China and the United States in an era of change and uncertainty dominated the debate at this year’s China Conference in Hong Kong on Thursday.
At the annual event organised by the South China Morning Post, policymakers, government advisers, business leaders and academics discussed the challenges and opportunities faced by Beijing as it seeks to take a greater role in shaping the global geopolitical and economic landscape, and how it has reacted to being labelled a strategic competitor by US President Donald Trump.
Opening this year’s conference, the theme of which was “Globalisation: The China Perspective and the US Factor”, the Post’s chief executive Gary Liu, said that as Washington was retreating from its leadership role on the world stage, so China was transforming itself to become a central figure in shaping globalisation.
Here is what some of the other speakers had to say:
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong chief executive
In her opening remarks, Lam said that China had become a defender of globalisation and a champion for multilateral cooperation on trade, while Washington had aggressively promoted the politics of protectionism under the flag of localisation.