Hong Kong urged to revive growth, drive reforms with government’s ‘visible hand’

Hong Kong authorities should act as a “visible hand” to break down barriers erected by vested interests and revive growth momentum through reform under its maiden five-year plan, a former Beijing official overseeing the city’s affairs has said.

Deng Zhonghua, former deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also said the city had to adopt a reform-oriented approach to empower emerging industries through deregulation. Hong Kong also needed to address “deep-rooted conflicts”, including uneven benefits from development, through improving mechanisms for sharing the fruits of growth in housing, healthcare, elderly care and education.

“[The five-year plan] marks a shift from a free market adopting a positive non-interventionist approach to an organic combination of an efficient market and a capable government,” Deng, who is now president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said on Saturday.

“[This entails] performing the role of the ‘visible hand’ of the government to effectively regulate and guide in areas where the market fails and reinforce the leading role.”