Hong Kong forum on US-China ties aims to create ‘optimistic’ tone ahead of Apec summit

Organisers of this week’s forum on US-China relations in Hong Kong hope to create an “optimistic” tone ahead of an Apec summit in San Francisco, where the leaders of the two nations are expected to meet.

The Hong Kong Forum on US-China Relations, which runs Thursday and Friday, will feature video remarks by ambassadors of both countries, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and two Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

“The [forum’s] timing was deliberate, so that we could help craft a tone, hopefully an optimistic one … before Apec begins,” said James Chau, president of co-organiser the China-United States Exchange Foundation.

James Chau, president of the China-United States Exchange Foundation, says the speakers invited are “established figures who transcend political office” and believe in healthy relations between countries. Photo: Harvey Kong

Washington earlier said United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping were expected to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco that begins on November 15.

Hong Kong will send finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po after city leader John Lee Ka-chiu said he could not attend due to a scheduling conflict.

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Asked about a recent proposal by US lawmakers to sanction 49 city officials, judges and prosecutors for their application of the Beijing-imposed national security law, Chau said recent developments mirrored the reality of a “very difficult relationship” over the past couple of years, which only reminded him of the importance of the forum organisers’ work.

The event will feature video remarks by Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng and his American counterpart Nicholas Burns. Mahathir will also attend virtually, alongside Nobel laureates Jose Ramos-Horta and Muhammad Yunus.

Those attending in person, meanwhile, include deputy prime minister of Thailand Bhokin Bhalakula, former foreign secretary of India Shyam Saran, former US ambassador to China and ex-senator Max Baucus, former US trade negotiator Charlene Barshefsky and president of the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft.

Chau said the speakers were “established figures who transcend political office” and who were invited because they believed in healthy relations between countries.

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According to the organisers, the conference will recognise shifts in the relationship between the US and China, while also embracing the momentum of new optimism to drive progress.

The foundation, started by the city’s first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa in 2008, aims to help Beijing and Washington recognise and develop areas of common interest.

John Zhao was chosen to replace Tung as chairman last month. The 86-year-old former chief executive will instead serve as chairman emeritus.

This year’s event will be held in a fully physical format for the first time since 2019. The 2020 iteration did not go ahead due to pandemic restrictions, and the forum was conducted online the following two years.

South China Morning Post