CityUHK releases "Future City Index 2025" Hong Kong ranked as top ten Leading Future Cities, strengthening role as International Talent Hub

City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) today (19 May) launched the “Future City Index 2025” (CityUHK FCI), the world’s first city-level benchmarked report assessing the long-term development capabilities of 100 global cities across education, technology, talents, and finance. Based on an analysis of key indicators, the CityUHK FCI ranks Hong Kong among the world’s top ten “Leading Future Cities”, and identifies its top ten positions in “Talent Hub”, “Connection Hub”, “Resilience”, and “Future-positioning”. These results underscore Hong Kong’s competitiveness and strategic value on the global innovation stage.

The launch of CityUHK FCI was officiated by Mr Chris Sun, Secretary for Labour and Welfare of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR); Professor the Honourable Michael Ngai, CityUHK Council Chairman; and Professor Lee Chun-sing, CityUHK Acting President. Mr Peter Yan King-shun, Director-General of Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises of the Government of the HKSAR, and the Honourable Mr Dennis Leung Tsz-wing, Member of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR, also attended.

In his speech, Mr Sun remarked, “Hong Kong enjoys the strong support of the Motherland while staying closely connected to the world. As the country embarks on its 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong will further its role as the ‘Super Connector’ and ‘Super value-adder’. By partnering with universities to reinforce its role as a global talent hub, the city is committed to attracting top-tier professionals from the Chinese Mainland and overseas, building a world-class talent pool, and bolstering its development as an International Hub for High-calibre Talents. The CityUHK FCI offers global insights and a visionary outlook for Hong Kong’s growth. It plays a crucial role in enhancing the city's competitiveness and reinforcing its strategic status as a vital link between the Chinese Mainland and the international innovation and start-up ecosystems.”

In his welcome remarks, Professor Ngai stated that CityUHK fully supports the Government of the HKSAR to promote integrated development of education, technology, talents, and finance, and is committed to enhancing the “Study in Hong Kong” brand for retaining global talent.

“The Index offers a forward-looking benchmark for policymakers, researchers, industry leaders, and public institutions. It provides strategic direction for collaboration among government, industry, academia, research, and investment, as well as nurtures and attracts world-class talent. The Index will further shape the city’s talent pipelines, linking international capital with technology resources, attracting leading deep-tech enterprises, and driving knowledge into real-world applications,” he said.

Professor Lee, in his vote of thanks, remarked, “CityUHK has yielded fruitful results through HK Tech 300 and the CityUHK Academy of Innovation (CAI). Together with the newly released FCI - an effective tool that utilises big data to assess a city's long-term development and capabilities - it reaffirms our commitment to nurturing more deep-tech talent and start-ups.”

The CityUHK FCI, compiled and published by the Global Talent Flow Data Hub at CAI, evaluates 100 cities worldwide, across 39 indicators. The report delivers data-driven insights into six strategic dimensions, including talent hub, knowledge production, technological innovation, future-positioning, global connectivity, and urban resilience.

This inaugural report reveals the world’s top ten “Leading Future Cities” are Beijing, Boston, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore. Notably, only five cities – Beijing, Hong Kong, London, New York and Paris – rank within the top ten across all four categories of “Talent Hub”, “Connection Hub”, “Resilience”, and “Future-Positioning”, underscoring their pivotal position in global talent competitiveness.

Among the five cities, Hong Kong stands out in attracting, nurturing and retaining innovative talent, and records the highest score in international collaboration among major bay areas.

Hong Kong has demonstrated strong resilience and adaptability amid the global challenges posed by the pandemic. Over the past decade, the city has achieved significant growth in the number of top researchers, research outputs, R&D investment, and high-tech enterprises. In the past five years, talent inflow exceeded 25,000; furthermore, there has been a 3.7-fold increase over the last ten years in the number of top researchers in emerging areas (including AI, biotech, fintech, and semiconductors). This growth underscores Hong Kong’s role as an international talent hub, connecting global resources and capital, and serving as a vital link between the Chinese Mainland and the wider ecosystems.

Professor Vincent Wang Xiaohui, Director of the Global Talent Flow Data Hub at CAI, noted that local universities are dedicated to nurturing tech talent. Leveraging the Chinese Mainland’s extensive high-end talent pool together with Hong Kong’s strengths in global connectivity and adaptability, it will further advance the policy of “Bringing in and Going Global,” positioning Hong Kong as a strategic gateway for talent and enterprises to expand overseas.

The Index is presented by CityUHK, with support from Clarivate, and the International Organisation for Migration at UN Migration.

CityUHK today launched the inaugural "Future City Index 2025". Mr Chris Sun, Secretary for Labour and Welfare of the Government of the HKSAR (4th from left); Professor the Honourable Michael Ngai, CityUHK Council Chairman (4th from right); and Professor Lee Chun-sing, CityUHK Acting President (3rd from left); join Mr Peter Yan King-shun, DirectorGeneral of Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (2nd from left); the Honourable Mr Dennis Leung Tsz-wing, Member of Legislative Council of the HKSAR (2nd from right); Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, CityUHK Senior Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise) (3rd from right); Professor Michael Tse Chi-kong, Associate Vice-President (Innovation) and Director of CityUHK Academy of Innovation (1st from left); and Professor Vincent Wang Xiaohui, Director of the Global Talent Flow Data Hub at CityUHK Academy of Innovation (1st from right), officiated the launch of the index.

Mr Chris Sun, Secretary for Labour and Welfare of the Government of the HKSAR, delivers speech at the ceremony.

Professor the Honourable Michael Ngai, CityUHK Council Chairman, delivers welcome remarks.

Professor Lee Chun-sing, CityUHK Acting President, delivers a vote of thanks

Professor Vincent Wang Xiaohui, Director of the Global Talent Flow Data Hub at CityUHK Academy of Innovation, shares key findings of the “Future City Index 2025”.

Professor Vincent Wang Xiaohui, Director of the Global Talent Flow Data Hub at CAI, noted that local universities are dedicated to nurturing tech talent. Leveraging the Chinese Mainland’s extensive high‑end talent pool together with Hong Kong’s strengths in global connectivity and adaptability, it will further advance the policy of “Bringing in and Going Global,” positioning Hong Kong as a strategic gateway for talent and enterprises to expand overseas.

The Index is presented by CityUHK, with support from the Clarivate, and the International Organisation for Migration at UN Migration.

Speech by SEE at APEC FSMM discussion session on Work Towards High Quality Agricultural and Rural Development in Asia-Pacific Region in Hangzhou

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, at the discussion session entitled Work Towards High Quality Agricultural and Rural Development in the Asia-Pacific Region at the 11th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Food Security Ministerial Meeting (FSMM) in Hangzhou today (August 25):

Thank you Chair. First of all, I would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China for hosting the meeting and the warm hospitality.

Hong Kong, China, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. With a population over 7.5 million, our total land area is just about 1 100 square kilometers. The topography of the territory is hilly, and only 30 per cent of the land is flat.

This drives the need for innovative, space-efficient solutions such as intensive farming, urban agriculture, and new technologies to boost productivity and resilience.

To promote sustainable agriculture and fisheries, Hong Kong, China, has promulgated a blueprint with a series of active programmes. The goal is to modernise and intensify local production to raise both output volume and value, while at the same time supporting the long-term sustainability of our farming communities.

On sustaining agricultural production capacity, we have established an Agricultural Park to nurture agro-technology and modern farm management. In parallel, a Modernised Techno-Agricultural Park has been set up through public-private partnership, to support development of modern commercial farms.

Due to our land scarcity, Hong Kong, China, is also pioneering modern and environment-friendly multi-storey pig farming. A dedicated site has been reserved for a six-storey, fully enclosed pig farm, capable of housing over 10 000 pigs.

The new pig farm will employ automated, climate-controlled, digitally managed and AI-assisted systems, that will offer a replicable model for economies facing similar land constraints.

To facilitate agricultural trade, our Vegetable Marketing Organization serves as a vital bridge between producers and consumers. It provides orderly marketing services, expands online and offline channels, and promotes high-quality local produce.

The organisation also actively promotes high-quality local agricultural and fisheries products by participating in food exhibitions, supplying seasonal produce to large catering groups, designing special menus, and conducting online and offline promotional campaigns.

We have recently launched a new brand, the Hong Kong Harvest, to certify local agricultural and fisheries products that meet rigorous safety, quality and traceability requirements.

Through branding local produce, our goal is to enhance market competitiveness, build consumer confidence, increase farmers' incomes and attract younger talent to join the agricultural and fisheries industry. All these serve as part of our efforts to drive sustainable development of the agricultural and fisheries industry, as well as rural revitalisation.

Ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong, China, stands ready to share experiences and work with fellow APEC economies to advance agricultural innovation, strengthen regional trade and build a more resilient and prosperous Asia-Pacific community. Thank you.

Speech by SEE at APEC FSMM discussion session on Work Towards High Quality Agricultural and Rural Development in Asia-Pacific Region in Hangzhou Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases