India Today ·
Hong Kong unveils first five-year plan with tech and education push
John Lee has unveiled Hong Kong's first five-year plan, centred on technology, higher education and the Northern Metropolis. The move signals closer alignment with Beijing-style strategic planning while preserving the city's capitalist framework.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee on Wednesday unveiled the city’s first five-year plan, in a politically symbolic move that mirrors Beijing’s approach to development. The plan aims to broaden Hong Kong’s identity beyond international finance by giving greater emphasis to technology and higher education, while the government said it would remain a strategic framework rather than a planned economy.
In a speech to the legislature, Lee said the plan aims to “make breakthroughs in economic development, enhance competitiveness, improve social well-being and achieve progress in integrating into and serving national development”. It also sets out goals to speed up the Northern Metropolis project, strengthen Hong Kong’s role in key service sectors and deepen its position as the world’s largest offshore hub for the renminbi.
Hong Kong has long prided itself on minimal government intervention in the economy, even as officials have increasingly referred to Beijing’s vision for the city. Mainland China approved its 15th five-year plan for 2026 to 2030 in March. Ahead of launching Hong Kong’s own plan, the city government said it would serve as a framework for the financial hub’s strategic priorities and that the capitalist system would be upheld.
A key part of the plan is to speed up the development of the Northern Metropolis, which is expected to provide land for the innovation and technology industry and build university towns near the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen. First proposed in 2021 by Lee’s predecessor Carrie Lam, the project aims to generate 650,000 jobs and house 2.5 million people.
Under the five-year plan, the government hopes to raise domestic expenditure on innovation activities as a share of GDP from 1.63 per cent in 2024 to 3 per cent after 2030. The plan also seeks to link industrial development with academic sectors in which Hong Kong holds a competitive edge in the Northern Metropolis. Each of the three planned university towns will have its own role, including one focused on areas such as artificial intelligence and robotics.
Alongside its push to develop as an innovation and technology hub, the government said it would also work to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a centre for international finance, maritime, trade and aviation. It has also proposed reinforcing the city’s role as the world’s largest offshore hub for the renminbi, mainland China’s currency, and exploring the use of the renminbi to settle government expenditure where appropriate.
The plan comes as observers watch whether Lee will use it and his latest policy proposals to build momentum for a second term next year. The former security chief fulfilled Beijing’s long-standing demand to enact a homegrown national security law in 2024. Officials said that law, along with a China-imposed security law, was necessary for the city’s stability after the massive anti-government protests in 2019. Lee has also been under pressure to distinguish Hong Kong from regional rivals and mainland Chinese metropolises after Beijing’s tightening grip affected its image as a freewheeling financial centre.
Overall, the five-year plan lays out Hong Kong’s attempt to combine its traditional strengths in finance and trade with a stronger push in technology, higher education and integration with national development, with the Northern Metropolis at the centre of that effort.