bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Jeffie Lam

Hong Kong businesses must consider national interests while pursuing commercial deals, the city’s leader has said, arguing that the two are not mutually exclusive.
In an interview with the Post as he marked three years in office, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu stressed the importance of local companies keeping national interests in mind while seeking profits.
Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings has recently drawn the ire of Beijing over a controversial deal to sell its overseas ports to a consortium led by US investment giant BlackRock.
Without commenting directly on the controversy, Lee argued in general that commercial and national interests did not have to contradict each other.
“When you do business, you have the maximum freedom to pursue your own goals and foster capitalism,” Lee said.
“But at the same time, there are things that you don’t want to hurt, because hurting those things will also hurt your business.”


A dampened overall environment would also be detrimental to individual businesses, he cautioned.
Lee said he felt that most businesspeople “know how they can maximise the benefits, [and] at the same time maximise the benefits to the country”.
CK Hutchison dropped a bombshell in March by announcing a US$23 billion deal to sell its stakes in 43 overseas ports, including two strategic ones at the Panama Canal, to a consortium led by BlackRock. CK Hutchison would pocket US$19 billion from the sale.
The strategic waterway has become a geopolitical ­flashpoint in the superpower rivalry, with US President Donald Trump insisting on “taking back” the Panama ports “from China”.
Beijing’s offices in Hong Kong have indirectly signalled their anger over the sale by reposting scathing opinion pieces in the pro-China media that have called it a “betrayal of all Chinese people”.
The State Administration for Market Regulation has also promised to launch an antitrust investigation into the sale.
CK Hutchison, which did not go ahead with the expected signing of a deal in April, said it would be impossible for the Panama ports sale to proceed under any illegal or non-compliant circumstances.
Lee had previously responded to the escalating row with caution, saying only that concerns sparked by the deal deserved “serious attention” and that all transactions had to abide by the law.

In his interview with the Post, the chief executive called for business interests to align with overall national interests.
Using a metaphor, Lee said one should never act against the interests of one’s family.
“The family allows you to pursue your best interests. You can be a reporter. You can be a singer. [Your] family allows you to do it, but you don’t come back home and destroy all the furniture, right? That can’t [be] reconciled. I think that is simple ABC logic,” he said.
“And I can’t find the logic that you being a family member, you can act ... against the interest of your family.”
Entering his fourth year in office, Lee said his administration would be “fully focused” on economic development and improving people’s livelihoods, with the framework to ensure stability and security already established.
But he expected the city to come under international scrutiny because of its national security work, including the trial of ex-media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying set to end this year.
Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, earlier completed his oral testimony in his defence against two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications.
The prosecution of the 77-year-old has been criticised by some Western countries as politically motivated, with Trump saying during his election campaign he would strike a deal with Beijing to “100 per cent” get Lai out of China.

Asked about the possibility of Lai being used by the US as leverage in trade talks, Lee emphasised that some things “cannot be traded”.
“Of course, there are people with ulterior motives who would want to trade things,” Lee said. “We do have principles, don’t we? If you are a man without principles, then you’re nobody.”
Lee said that “justice should be done” as he expressed confidence in the city’s judicial system.
“We believe in the rule of law. The courts do their job, and they have been doing their job very professionally in a very respected way, well respected by their colleagues around the world,” he said.
“It’s only politicians who are talking about things very differently.”


Committee probing Hong Kong fire visits Wang Fuk Court to inspect conditions

Hong Kong’s fire victims need empathy, clarity and a plan

Hong Kong right to strike a balance on New Year’s celebrations

Hong Kong to become Asia’s leading aircraft recycling hub, John Lee vows

John Lee

National and commercial interests must go together, John Lee tells Hong Kong businesses

City leader John Lee says he feels that most businesspeople “know how they can maximise the benefits, [and] at the same time maximise the benefits to the country”. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison has come under fire over a deal to sell its overseas ports. Photo: Sam Tsang

Chief Executive John Lee (centre) with journalists from the Post. Photo: Dickson Lee

‘Don’t kill your successful DNA’: Hong Kong’s John Lee on tariffs, trade war

City leader John Lee has said his government has already made “contingency plans for the worst”, but stopped short of revealing what they are. Photo: Dickson Lee

National and Hong Kong flags in Tsim Sha Tsui. Chief Executive John Lee likened the city to “a river which flows into the world” and the mainland to “one of the big seas” into which Hong Kong flowed. Photo: Jelly Tse

Go for a second term? ‘I’m focused on the now’: Hong Kong’s John Lee

City leader John Lee has said boosting the economy and improving people’s livelihoods will be among his priorities for the two years remaining in his current term. Photo: Dickson Lee

Then Chief Executive-elect John Lee (left) at a press conference in 2022. The next chief executive election is expected to take place in 2027. Photo: Sam Tsang

Yes, Hong Kong’s retail sector is struggling but people will have to adapt: John Lee

Hong Kong’s retail sales dropped for a 14th consecutive month in April, falling by 2.3 per cent, year on year, to HK$28.9 billion. Photo: Edmond So

“The cake is still getting bigger. But, of course, [businesses will have] to work harder to ensure that this slice continues to grow,” city leader John Lee has said. Photo: Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

Politics

Chief executive outlines stance amid controversy over CK Hutchison’s deal to sell overseas ports to consortium led by US investment giant BlackRock


Chief executive outlines stance amid controversy over CK Hutchison’s deal to sell overseas ports to consortium led by US investment giant BlackRock.


.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Exclusive | National and commercial interests must go together, John Lee tells Hong Kong businesses

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chief executive outlines stance amid controversy over CK Hutchison’s deal to sell overseas ports to consortium led by US investment giant BlackRock

Exclusive | National and commercial interests must go together, John Lee tells Hong Kong businesses

Chief executive outlines stance amid controversy over CK Hutchison’s deal to sell overseas ports to consortium led by US investment giant BlackRock