Globalization has woven the world into a vast interconnected web, with cities acting as its key nodes. These urban hubs facilitate extensive transnational and local cooperation. As a result, cities are increasingly assuming a central role in global governance and diplomacy, thanks to their inherent inclusivity and strong capacity to engage with the broader world.
Hong Kong is a bridge between mainland China and the rest of the world. The report of the 20th CPC National Congress proposes that Hong Kong should give full play to their strengths and distinctive features, consolidate and elevate their international position in finance, trade, shipping, innovation and technology, culture and tourism, and develop more open and closer interaction and cooperation with other countries and regions. This reiterates Hong Kong’s special position in international communications.
Hong Kong’s city diplomacy is primarily based on its economic and business environment, culture, education, and scientific research resources. The city has developed a well-established system of external cooperation and interaction, which has enabled it to be more closely connected to the rest of the world. This includes access to international financial support, technical support, and access to cutting-edge information in relevant fields, all of which have significantly enhanced Hong Kong’s overall strength and international visibility.
Today, Hong Kong’s city diplomacy is at a new and critical stage of development. In considering challenges and risks, what kind of an interactive future should Hong Kong seek to construct?
The Practice and Strategy of Hong Kong’s City Diplomacy
Cultural Exchanges
Chinese culture has been providing the local arts and culture sectors with rich nutrients and inspirations, and unique creation has also been inspired by embracing both Chinese and Western cultures in Hong Kong, enabling Hong Kong to tell the good stories of China. The culture of Hong Kong is primarily a mix of Chinese and Western influences, stemming from Lingnan Cantonese roots and later fusing with British culture due to British colonialism. Following the 1997 transfer of sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong has continued to evolve its identity within the framework of “One country, two systems.” It has absorbed a wide range of global influences and is also home to indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities from South and Southeast Asia.
The role as an “East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange” presents significant opportunities to Hong Kong. Just like the city itself, Hong Kong’s cultural promotion strategy is a blend of the old and the new and the East and the West. Given this, the city actively fosters international partnerships to enhance its global influence. For instance, in 2024, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) organized the first-ever Hong Kong International Cultural Summit (the Summit) at the West Kowloon Cultural District. The event brought together more than 2,000 participants from over 30 countries and regions. During the summit, WKCDA signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with 21 leading arts and cultural institutions from 11 countries, including France, Japan, Qatar, and the United Kingdom, as well as cities in Mainland China. These MOUs cover diverse areas such as co-production and touring of exhibitions, collection sharing, conservation, digitalization, scientific research, and educational exchange programs. Besides, it hosts a range of influential international art and culture events, including but not limited to the International Arts & Collectibles Expo, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).
Local NGOs also play an important role in fostering international connections and creating an inclusive atmosphere at home. They collaborate with foreign artists or invite them for performances, often with support from embassies.
Economic and Business Environment
Hong Kong’s unique edge lies in its extensive connections with the mainland and the rest of the world and its high degree of internationalization. Located at the heart of Asia, the city maintains robust trade relations with markets across Asia, Europe, North America, and the Pacific. Countries and regions import and export goods and services from and to Hong Kong throughout the year. Particularly, as it has close links with both Mainland China and the United States, the city is important in facilitating trade between the two. In 2021 alone, an estimated US$28.1 billion worth of exports from China to the US and US$13.7 billion worth of imports from the US to China were routed to Hong Kong. In the context of heightened China-US tension, it’s crucial to strengthen and better utilize Hong Kong’s role as China’s gateway to the world and carefully navigate one of the world’s most important bilateral relations.
Hong Kong’s financial markets have also shown considerable resilience. In 2023, the city experienced a strong rebound in initial public offerings (IPOs), with funds raised from new listings more than doubling in the first three quarters compared to the previous year. This growth outpaced increases in Europe and the Americas, highlighting Hong Kong’s strategic initiatives to enhance market efficiency and attract international businesses.
Having said so, Hong Kong looks forward to marketing itself as a fintech hub in Asia. In the 2024 Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), it is rated 3 in the world and 1 in the Asia-Pacific. In the fintech area, Hong Kong entered the top ten, taking 9th position, further reinforcing its claim as one of the greatest financial centers in the world.
As per the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), there are approximately 1000 FinTech firms in Hong Kong operating in the mobile payment, cross-border finance, AI-based financial advisory, wealth & investment, and RegTech industries. These enterprises flourish under the vivid international jurisdictions of Hong Kong, which include, among other things, sandboxing. Besides, no foreign lead and no capital flow facilitate a great deal of cross-border trading. Startups enjoy low taxation, simplicity of the tax system, and government funding and subsidy programs in Hong Kong, which support an environment for and development of new ideas.
All in all, the city enables considerable exchange of goods and services across the regions, which allows it to position itself as an important node in the global supply chain. This interconnectivity means that Hong Kong has a role in trade and regional negotiations, as well as the global economy.
Cooperation in Education and Scientific Research
As one of the world’s most competitive cities, Hong Kong is home to some of Asia Pacific’s very best universities in terms of their teaching and research achievements. One crucial policy initiative outlined by Hong Kong’s chief executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, in his latest annual Policy Address is the project to establish the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as an international tertiary education hub. Evidence of this ambition is found in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which placed four of Hong Kong’s institutions in the top 10 of the world’s most international universities out of over 1,900 globally. According to the QS World University Rankings 2025, five Hong Kong universities are ranked in the top 100. This is the same number as Korea and outcompetes Japan. This strong global presence underscores the city’s position as a leader in global higher education and research.
Data from the Education Bureau of Hong Kong shows that as of 2022, approximately 25% of students in Hong Kong’s universities were international students—considerably higher than the average for other Asian regions. The statistic demonstrates Hong Kong’s success in attracting global talent.
At the time when the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) becomes a central component of China’s world governance approach, it seems that Hong Kong’s education sector is well positioned to support and enhance the BRI. The bridge that the city provides is in the form of English language educational courses to the eligible population, not only at the level of degree programs but also at the level of vocational and technical education. This role makes Hong Kong an important participant in the BRI by providing assistance in the development of human resources and dissemination of knowledge through the global corridors of the initiative.
The Challenges of Hong Kong’s City Diplomacy
The Competitive Pressure of Cultural Appeal
For large international cities, good urban soft power means rich cultural industries, diverse cultural tolerance, and respect and protection for the culture of minority groups. Hong Kong has long been known as a multiethnic and multicultural city. Many world-class cultural and artistic events are held in Hong Kong, such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival, which has become one of the most influential art events in Asia since 1973. Hong Kong’s degree of religious freedom is also extremely unique in Asia. Citizens can freely believe in and hold religious activities. The gathering of temples, churches, mosques, and synagogues in Hong Kong fully demonstrates Hong Kong’s religious tolerance.
However, in recent years, some cultural institutions have moved their headquarters from Hong Kong to Southeast Asia, especially to Singapore. And some art activities have also chosen Singapore rather than Hong Kong as their destination. According to the report published by Bloomberg Intelligence, Singapore hosted regional headquarters for 4,200 multinational firms in 2023, extending its lead over Hong Kong, which has 1,336. Among them, many cultural enterprises decided to move their headquarters to Singapore, considering Singapore’s more stable political background and cultural inclusiveness, as well as the broader Western market. For example, One Championship, whose headquarters was originally located in Hong Kong, later moved its mixed martial arts event platform to Singapore. LVMH also established its regional headquarters for creative industries in Singapore as an important strategy for its expansion in Southeast Asia.
At the same time, some media have also moved their headquarters and operations from Hong Kong to Singapore. For example, the Wall Street Journal recently moved its Asian headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore, and some Hong Kong employees were fired as a result, and the size of its news team was greatly reduced. Overall, due to its particularity, Hong Kong society is quite sensitive to changes at the political level. Under the huge competitive pressure from cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong’s cultural ecology also urgently needs to be adjusted to retain more companies and maintain Hong Kong’s cultural values.
The Inconsistencies of City-State Diplomatic Goals in Geopolitics
In recent years, with the rise of the “New Cold War” theory and the tension in China-US relations, Hong Kong’s city diplomacy has faced new challenges.
From the establishment of the US consulate in Hong Kong in 1843 to the establishment of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong in 1969, after a long period of accumulation, Hong Kong has carried huge economic interests of the United States. According to the “2019 Hong Kong Policy Act Report” released by the US State Department, there are 85,000 US citizens living in Hong Kong, and 1.3 million US citizens visited or transited through Hong Kong in 2018; more than 1,300 US companies operate in Hong Kong, of which about 300 US companies have their Asian business headquarters in Hong Kong; almost all major US financial companies have branches in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong is the main destination for US legal and accounting services; Hong Kong is the US economy with the highest trade surplus in the world, the fourth largest agricultural product export market, etc.
It is undoubted that the US policy towards Hong Kong is not always consistent with its interests in Hong Kong. Under the general background of “one country, two systems,” the US policy towards Hong Kong is more service to the US overall China strategy. In recent years, the United States has positioned China as “the only country that has both the ability and the intention to challenge the United States comprehensively.” The US policy towards China has shifted from a “containment+engagement” strategy to a “containment+competition” strategy, and the position of Hong Kong, which was once a “window of Western democracy” and “economic and financial bridge,” has also shifted to a “front line of containment of China.”
After the National Security Law was promulgated and implemented in Hong Kong, the United States used congressional legislation and presidential executive orders to impose substantial sanctions on Hong Kong, attempting to obstruct the implementation of the National Security Law. Trump signed “Executive Order No. 13936” to sanction Hong Kong, freezing the preferential treatment given to Hong Kong by the 1992 “United States-Hong Kong Policy Act.” During the Biden administration, the United States continued the Trump administration’s tough policy toward China. On the one hand, it directly infiltrated and sanctioned Hong Kong. In 2022, the US House of Representatives passed the “American COMPETES Act of 2022,” which clearly continued to “decentralize” Hong Kong and weaken Hong Kong’s functions as an international financial center and international operations center. On the other hand, the “decoupling” policy was used to suppress Hong Kong, and the US authorities pressured or guided the US business community to gradually withdraw from Hong Kong.
The Countermeasures of Hong Kong’s City Diplomacy
Create a Differentiated Global Brand on the Basis of Unique Hong Kong Culture
According to Joseph Nye’s soft power theory, cultural attractiveness is a primary resource of soft power. Hong Kong, as a place where Chinese and Western cultures mix together, has a culture that takes root in the unique integration and diversity. Therefore, Hong Kong should further explore its cultural potential and continuously promote cultural communication.
First, Hong Kong should strengthen its “East meets West” cultural brand, integrate Chinese culture and British culture based on Lingnan culture, and make it a unique symbol with global attractiveness. By hosting large-scale cultural events such as the Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Hong Kong Art Festival or cooperating with art powerhouses such as Paris and New York, an international cultural exchange platform can be established to showcase its image as an “Asian world city,” which can not only highlight Hong Kong’s unique cultural characteristics but also form differentiated competition with other international cities and consolidate Hong Kong’s cultural status.
Second, advanced technology can provide important support for Hong Kong’s cultural promotion. Displaying Hong Kong’s historical and cultural buildings through digital means such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality or using online platforms to spread Hong Kong’s creative cultural products can greatly enhance the international accessibility of culture. For example, cooperating with streaming platforms to promote Hong Kong’s film, television works, and music to the international market. Hong Kong can learn from the successful model of Korean Hallyu culture and take advantage of social media technology to industrialize cultural content to strengthen its international influence.
In addition, protecting and exploring local culture is crucial to Hong Kong’s city diplomacy. Local traditional culture, such as Cantonese opera and tea restaurants, is not only an important part of soft power but also the foundation of Hong Kong’s city identity. Supporting the inheritance of traditional culture through government funding programs, establishing cultural heritage protection projects, integrating these elements into international promotion, and striving for UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage certification will further enhance Hong Kong’s cultural status.
Finally, it must be recognized that the best option to suit Hong Kong’s interests is not to confront competing cities, but on the contrary, it should cooperate with other world cities to achieve a win-win situation. Hong Kong can cooperate with other world cities to hold bilateral cultural exchange projects, such as co-hosting the “East Asian Cultural Year” with Tokyo or jointly launching the “Twin Cities Art Festival” with London. Such activities can deepen the cultural ties between Hong Kong and other cities while allowing more people to understand Hong Kong culture and expand the international influence of Hong Kong culture.
Through these measures, Hong Kong can make full use of its own cultural uniqueness, create an irreplaceable global brand, and provide more solid support of soft power for its city diplomacy.
Expand Diplomatic Channels through Multi-level and Multi-field Cooperation
Under the current circumstances, the relations between China and Western countries represented by the United States are becoming tense. Hong Kong needs to flexibly adjust its city diplomacy strategy, make full use of its unique geographical, economic, and cultural advantages, and expand diplomatic channels through multi-level and multi-field cooperation.
First, Hong Kong can play its long-term advantage as an international trade and financial center, promoting the Western countries’ views on itself. In the context of globalization, Hong Kong remains an indispensable economic bridge between China and Western countries. Hong Kong can strengthen cooperation with European and American companies in emerging fields such as green finance, digital currency, and financial technology, as well as international investment and technology exchanges through platforms such as international financial summits. The active participation could be witnessed to convey the signal of Hong Kong’s continued stability and openness to the outside world. In this regard, Singapore can be a valuable reference case for how to maintain its independence and international status in a complicated geopolitical environment.
Second, Hong Kong should further expand its city diplomacy with developing countries from Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, Hong Kong can provide developing countries with high-quality educational resources, professional training, and financial services. For example, universities in Hong Kong can cooperate with Southeast Asian universities, setting up joint courses to attract local talents and fill the talent gap caused by population loss in recent years. Additionally, Hong Kong can also cooperate with cities in Africa and Latin America in areas such as infrastructure construction, public health, and environmental governance, which will not only enhance Hong Kong’s influence in developing countries but also reduce its over-reliance on the European and American markets, forming a more diversified international connectivity.
Finally, Hong Kong can further sink its city diplomacy from the traditional state level to the interaction between specific cities. By strengthening its connection with major international cities and regional central cities, Hong Kong can achieve more efficient results. Targeted cooperation with international financial centers such as Tokyo and Dubai can promote regional economic and financial integration, and cooperation with cultural cities such as Paris and London will help enhance Hong Kong’s cultural visibility among international audiences. In addition, Hong Kong can also optimize its shipping network and consolidate its position as an ocean trade center through cooperation with other port cities around the world, such as Rotterdam and Gwadar.
Through the above countermeasures, Hong Kong’s city diplomacy can better maintain flexibility and connectivity in a complex geopolitical environment. On the one hand, through precise public diplomacy and targeted cooperation projects, Hong Kong can improve the perception of Western countries; on the other hand, by deepening the market of developing countries and multi-level cooperation among cities, Hong Kong can expand diplomatic networks and international influence. These efforts will not only help consolidate Hong Kong’s position as a global hub but also provide broader space for its future development.
