Mark Field says innovation and technology is the priority in deepening ties, but adds that journalist Victor Mallet\u2019s expulsion from the city undermines civil liberties and risks damaging business confidence<\/b>
\nMinister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field also said his country was in talks with the Hong Kong government to strengthen the trading relationship between the two economies, including the possibility of a future free-trade agreement.
\u201cHong Kong is a very important trading partner for the UK, and we have a very high level of ambition for our trading and investment relationships,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re working very closely with the Hong Kong government to support a full range of options.\u201d
Britain is Hong Kong\u2019s 13th largest trading partner. Last year bilateral trade amounted to HK$99 trillion (US$12.64 trillion), or 1.2 per cent of the city\u2019s total.
Field arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday as part of an East Asia trip to meet officials and British communities in the region. He was scheduled to meet Hong Kong\u2019s No 2 official, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, on Sunday to discuss bilateral issues, including the government\u2019s recent decision to deny entry to British journalist Victor Mallet, who was refused a work visa renewal and forced to leave the city after chairing a talk featuring a separatist activist.
In an interview on Friday, Field said the incident undermined civil liberties and risked damaging business confidence in Hong Kong. But he added that the \u201cone country, two systems\u201d principle under which the city has been governed since 1997 had generally worked well.
In recent months Beijing and Hong Kong have been keen to promote innovation and technology as a new driver of economic growth to reduce Hong Kong\u2019s reliance on the financial and real estate sectors.
The local government has signed deals with research institutes in France, the United States and mainland China to enable them to set up branches in the city.
Field said innovation and technology would be a priority as London deepened ties with Hong Kong.
\u201cIt is very much in the UK and Hong Kong\u2019s interests to ensure we strengthen further our close bilateral relationship, and that includes\u2026 financial technology and it includes the broad area of technology,\u201d he said.
He hoped to see academics working together on areas such as artificial intelligence, medical diagnostics, as well as \u201cin areas at the moment we can\u2019t foresee\u201d.
British and Hong Kong authorities have also in recent months signed a memorandum of understanding on allowing for the cross-border sale of retail funds. Greater cultural cooperation is also under consideration.
Field said with Britain set to leave the European Union in March next year, the country would \u201ceven more strongly embrace\u201d its involvement in other parts of the world.
In reference to that notion, Field said: \u201cWe can have a golden era there and we can also continue to cooperate more strongly with the United States, with Hong Kong and many other countries.\u201d
Asked if the US-China trade war was bringing Britain and China closer together, Field would only say that starting a trading dispute was not an appropriate or justified way to resolve differences.
\u201cWe feel a trade war is bad for everyone\u2026 I hope US President Donald Trump and President Xi will be able to come to the table to resolve these issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n