Chongqing- In February, Chongqing issued 23 specific measures for cultivating and building the city an international consumption center.
To achieve that, Chongqing needs to align with international rules. Backed by the mainland and facing the international market, Hong Kong, a significant trading partner of Chongqing, is familiar with domestic and international markets and new modes of consumption. The potential for further trading cooperation between Chongqing and Hong Kong is emerging.
"We hope to send messages about Chongqing's industrial advantages, favorable policies, as well as the demand of cooperation with Hong Kong to Hong Kong-based merchants and enterprises, and encourage them to pay more attention to the development and potential of Chongqing, an inland opening-up highland," said Eileen Zhu, Director of Chongqing Office of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).
Eileen Zhu, Director of Chongqing Office of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), accepted iChongqing's interview. (iChongqing/ Shihan Yang)
How will Hong Kong help?
Over the years, Hong Kong has been Chongqing's largest source of inbound investment, Zhu said. As of December 2021, 3,344 Hong Kong-funded enterprises have been registered in Chongqing. In 2021, the trade volume between Hong Kong and Chongqing increased significantly to 73.13 billion yuan (about 11.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 69.7% year on year.
According to Eileen Zhu, Hong Kong may make great efforts in the following respects:
Expand domestic sales channels for Hong Kong merchants
When passenger clearance services are available as the pandemic situation is stable, the HKTDC will organize a delegation of Hong Kong enterprises interested in exploring the mainland market to visit Chongqing to assist them in finding domestic sales partners.
Zhu specifically mentioned that HKTDC has a Design Gallery in Hong Kong, which brings together many brands designed and manufactured in Hong Kong. "We are striving for collaboration with creative culture, retail and trade enterprises in Chongqing, to help some high-quality Hong Kong brands in the Gallery settle and grow in Chongqing."
Chongqing issued the Several Policies for Cultivating and Building International Consumption Center. (iChongqing file photo)
Strengthen brand introduction and cooperation in the service sector
Chongqing is a major manufacturing city. Hong Kong's service industry boasts many advantages and opportunities in upgrading and transforming the manufacturing industry.
Zhu specifically mentioned the licensing industry. As she introduced, more and more consumers pay attention to the brand and experience rather than the product itself. Manifestations of brand licensing include jointly-designed products, theme exhibitions launched by shopping malls, and immersive licensing experiences such as theme restaurants and theme escape rooms. Licensing enhances both the value of a product and the experience of consumers.
There are broad prospects for the development of the market in western China. In developing the commercial market in Chongqing, Zhu suggested that manufacturing enterprises and commodity enterprises can form a synergy with well-known brands in Hong Kong. Licensed by the brands, they can rapidly increase their products' added value and market share.
Support Chongqing-based enterprises to go global
Instead of bringing Hong Kong-based brands to Chongqing, enterprises in Chongqing are also encouraged to understand Hong Kong's capital market better and choose to be listed in Hong Kong. Currently, there are 17 Chongqing-based companies listed in Hong Kong. However, all of them are engaged in finance, manufacturing, real estate, and education. For this condition, Zhu also suggested that "Chongqing enjoys a good foundation of biomedicine and health industry, and hosts fast-growing artificial intelligence and emerging technology enterprises. We hope they will develop in the capital market of Hong Kong to augment their international popularity and broaden financing channels."