“A just cause enjoys abundant support while an unjust cause finds little support.” This famous maxim from Mencius sums up the rise and fall of dynasties through the ages. Today, Donald Trump is a textbook example of the domineering path.
This week, Trump embarked on his first official overseas trip since returning to the White House, visiting three Middle Eastern countries – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar – and meeting with Syria’s new hard-line leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, along the way.
Trump’s reputation for brashness and strong-arm tactics precedes him, and Middle Eastern countries are falling over themselves to curry favor. The oil-rich Saudis, with their deep pockets, went straight for the wallet: during Trump’s visit, they inked a record-breaking US$142 billion arms deal with the United States, which the White House touts as the largest defense cooperation package in American history, involving ten major US defense contractors. Saudi Arabia also pledged to invest US$600 billion in the US. While Trump’s initial demand was a staggering US$1 trillion, the Saudis’ offer, even if padded with diplomatic niceties, is no small sum.
Qatar, with less financial muscle, tried a different tack. Ahead of Trump’s visit, Qatari officials announced plans to gift a Boeing 747-8 aircraft to serve as the new Air Force One, with the added proposal that Trump could continue to use it even after leaving office. This move sparked a firestorm of controversy in the US, with critics charging the president with accepting improper benefits.
Syria, still poorer, saw its new hard-line leader, Ahmed al-Shara, desperate to see US sanctions lifted. Sharaa’s overture was deeply personal: he announced plans to build a Trump Tower in Damascus, hoping to thaw relations with Washington. Ultimately, Trump met with Sharaa and lavished praise on him as a young, charismatic man with a distinguished past.
Trump’s Middle East tour was, in essence, a shakedown – bullying his way to windfalls, with little regard for appearances.
Meanwhile, as Trump was making his rounds in the Middle East, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu had just wrapped up his own visits to Kuwait and Qatar. What set Lee’s trip apart was the presence of Hong Kong officials and business leaders, and a delegation of mainland Chinese entrepreneurs, all traveling under Hong Kong’s banner to explore commercial opportunities in the Middle East. The Hong Kong delegation received top notch hospitality, staying at Kuwait’s iconic Bayan Palace – a venue reserved for foreign heads of state.
Lee’s mission was all about business, and the results were impressive. Summing up the trip, he highlighted six key achievements:
First, establishing a consensus for cooperation between the Hong Kong government and the governments of Qatar and Kuwait.
Second, signing 59 memoranda of understanding and agreements, laying the groundwork for diversified partnerships.
Third, leveraging Hong Kong’s unique “One Country, Two Systems” status to deepen international engagement and showcase the synergistic strengths of Hong Kong and the Mainland.
Fourth, furthering ties with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to unlock greater business opportunities.
Fifth, deepening mutual understanding and strengthening commercial networks.
Sixth, advancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges between Hong Kong and GCC nations.
Mainland business leaders who joined the trip were effusive in their praise. Wang Chaoyou, chairman of Shanghai Dongchao Technology Development Co., which specializes in environmental and energy-saving solutions, described the visit as highly fruitful. In Qatar, a local company expressed strong interest in collaborating with his firm. The schedule was so packed that the Qatari representative even traveled ahead to the next stop to continue discussions.
Wang also noted that his in-depth conversations with Hong Kong business leaders and government officials gave him a clearer understanding of Hong Kong’s advantages in finance, law, and taxation – all highly attractive to mainland enterprises. His company now plans to establish an overseas R&D headquarters and settlement center in Hong Kong, fully leveraging the city’s global connectivity and professional services.
Hong Kong’s approach is all about partnership, not bullying. The city’s strength lies in genuinely fostering trade and business ties between Hong Kong, the mainland, and Middle Eastern countries – growing together, prospering together, and building each other up. This is a win-win game, not a zero-sum contest.
Bullying is unsustainable. True leadership lies in cooperation – and only by following the way can one travel far.
Lo Wing-hung
Bastille Commentary
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
At the arrival of 2026, the happiest thing is to see the "Hong Kong is dead" narrative—proclaimed so loudly by Western voices—die yet again.
Foreign Money Returns Home
The West has written Hong Kong's obituary more times than you can count. They believed the city's return to China should have been its death sentence. American magazine Fortune declared "The Death of Hong Kong" on its 1995 cover—two years before the handover even happened. Hong Kong survived the Asian financial turmoil in the early post-handover years. It survived SARS. Then came 2019's Black Riots, followed by US sanctions on Hong Kong officials in 2020 and the pandemic's hammer blow. Foreign capital fled in an American-orchestrated exodus, with much of it landing in Singapore.
Last February, Stephen Roach—Yale University senior fellow—wrote in the UK's Financial Times with a headline that said it all: "It pains me to say Hong Kong is over." Foreign investors don't just track economic growth when they assess Hong Kong. They watch the stock market. And over the past year, Hong Kong's miraculous stock market comeback has bankrupted the "Hong Kong is dead" theory.
Hong Kong's economy grew an estimated 3.2% in 2025—ranking it among the developed world's top performers. But the stock market performance was getting really interesting. Average daily turnover in the first 11 months hit HK$230.7 billion—a massive 43% jump compared to 2024's same period.
Record-Breaking Fundraising Wins
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange crushed it in 2025. A total of 119 new listings raised HK$285.8 billion—a staggering 220% year-on-year increase and the highest since 2021. According to KPMG's report, HKEX ranked first globally in fundraising. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq tied for second place. Looking ahead, HKEX's fundraising is estimated to reach HK$300-350 billion in 2026, keeping it among the world's top exchanges.
Sure, Mainland capital is investing in Hong Kong. But foreign capital's return has been the real game-changer behind the stock market's strong performance. According to fund industry insiders, what we're seeing now is only wave one—primarily hedge funds and other medium-to-short-term players. As Hong Kong's trading volumes swell and quality Mainland companies list here, the long-term foreign funds will gradually return. The outlook for Hong Kong stocks continues to look favorable.
America's narrative said Hong Kong's National Security Law would scare capital away. Reality proved exactly the opposite. Hong Kong's stable environment gave Chinese companies the confidence to list here. America's targeting of Chinese concept stocks listed on its exchanges was self-destruction—forcing quality Chinese companies to turn to Hong Kong for listing instead. This made Hong Kong's stock market bigger and stronger, compelling even bearish foreign capital to come back.
Beijing's Seal of Approval
President Xi's remarks when meeting Chief Executive John Lee during his duty visit to Beijing in mid-December reveal what work the central government values in Hong Kong. President Xi opened with praise for the Chief Executive's courage and initiative in leading the SAR government. He highlighted four key achievements: steadfast maintenance of national security, successful Legislative Council elections, proactive integration into national development, and achieving steady economic growth.
President Xi's assessment underscores Beijing's high recognition of Hong Kong's ability to do both—safeguard national security and develop the economy simultaneously. Some Hong Kong people believed that having transitioned "from chaos to governance and then to prosperity," the city should set aside national security to focus on economic development. Reality proved this view wrong. Hong Kong must strike a balance between these seemingly contradictory goals and advance on both fronts at once.
Look at Hong Kong's development over the past five years. The city emerged from Black Riots and the pandemic in 2021, achieving a strong rebound from the bottom in 2023. The return to normalcy brought revenge spending that temporarily elevated market sentiment.
But entering 2024, local consumption patterns underwent structural changes. Hong Kong people shopping across the border diverted local retail spending. The strong Hong Kong dollar—tracking the US dollar—and high interest rates suppressed economic activity, leading to structural adjustment.
By the second half of 2025, Hong Kong entered a phase of moderate recovery. The property market began stabilizing after its decline. With the US starting rate cuts in September, capital supply loosened. Hong Kong can continue along this recovery path in 2026—that's the estimate anyway.
Despite the optimism, Hong Kong people must keep working hard. The many vacant shops you see on the streets tell the story—retail economy pressure remains real. In 2024, Hong Kong's total retail sales value of HK$376.8 billion represented a 7.3% year-on-year decline. That's painful for the retail sector.
Retail's Reversal Ahead
Through October 2025, retail sales values remained comparable to the previous year. But consumption began recovering in the second half—retail sales value rose 3.8% in August, 6% in September, and 6.9% in October. 2025 showed an early decline followed by growth, with accelerating consumption momentum. Retail consumption is expected to reverse its decline in 2026.
During this retail transformation, we Hong Kong people must continue their efforts. Old businesses will still be eliminated—that's inevitable. Strategic adjustments are required. New opportunities must be pursued.
Bottom line: Hong Kong's economic performance in 2025 proves once again that the "Hong Kong is dead" theory dies—one more time. Hong Kong has weathered different shocks repeatedly in the past, emerging reborn each time like a phoenix from the ashes.
Lo Wing Hung
