From Super-Connector to Institutional Integrator: Hong Kong’s APEC Opportunity: Not Only to "Connect" the World but also to design the "Systems " that connect it.

As the Asia-Pacific prepares for APEC 2026, Hong Kong stands at a decisive crossroads. The city is no longer being judged only on whether it can connect markets, capital, and people. It is being asked a more demanding question: can it help shape the rules, institutions, and standards that will govern the next phase of regional growth?

For decades, Hong Kong’s reputation as a “super-connector” has served it well. It has linked mainland China with the world, investors with opportunities, and global capital with trusted institutions. That role remains important. But in today’s fractured geopolitical environment, simply facilitating connections is no longer enough. A city that only passes information and capital between others risks being bypassed. Hong Kong must now evolve from a bridge into an architect.

Hong Kong and Qatar signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) (ISD photo)

APEC offers a rare platform to make that transformation visible and practical. With Shenzhen hosting the Leaders’ Informal Meeting and Hong Kong hosting the Finance Ministers’ Meeting, the two cities together can demonstrate not only regional cooperation, but also a new model of institutional alignment under “One Country, Two Systems.” This is not merely a diplomatic arrangement. It is an opportunity to show how different systems can work together to create new value.

Hong Kong’s strongest argument for this upgraded role lies in two recent achievements. First, its IPO market has surged back to the top of the world, with fundraising expected to reach around HK$300 billion in 2026. This is more than a market rebound. It reflects deep investor confidence in Hong Kong’s rule of law, its common law tradition, its financial openness, and its ability to provide a reliable platform for global capital. Second, Hong Kong has become one of the world’s most competitive talent hubs, with hundreds of thousands of applications approved under its talent schemes and a growing pool of professionals, entrepreneurs, and specialists now contributing to the city’s economy. These two strengths together form the foundation of a new role: Hong Kong as a place where capital, talent, and institutions converge.

Hong Kong tops global IPOs. (Online news photo)

That convergence matters because the next stage of competition will not be decided by markets alone. It will be decided by systems. Cross-border data rules, recognition of professional qualifications, digital trade standards, green finance frameworks, and dispute resolution mechanisms will increasingly determine which cities and regions attract investment and innovation. Hong Kong is uniquely positioned to help design those systems. It has the legal credibility, international networks, and institutional experience to translate between mainland and global standards.

This is why the concept of an “institutional integrator” is more than a slogan. It captures the strategic role Hong Kong must now play. A super-connector links different sides. An institutional integrator does more: it aligns rules, reduces friction, and creates a common operating environment. That distinction is crucial. In a world where supply chains are being rewired and regulatory blocs are hardening, Hong Kong cannot rely indefinitely on its intermediary role. It must become indispensable to the process of building the frameworks others use.

AI Governance Conference 2026: a platform for rule discussions (Online news photo)

APEC can help accelerate that shift in three ways.

First, it can raise Hong Kong’s international visibility at the highest policy level. Finance ministers, central bankers, and global business leaders gathering in the city will see first-hand the strength of its financial infrastructure and the credibility of its institutions. Hong Kong should use this platform to move from being a participant in rule-making discussions to a contributor to rule-making outcomes.

APEC 2026 to be held in Shenzhen this November (Online News photo)

Second, it can deepen collaboration with Shenzhen and the wider Greater Bay Area. The most effective way to demonstrate integration is not through slogans, but through experience. Delegations should be shown how Hong Kong and Shenzhen can function as complementary parts of a single innovation and finance ecosystem. High-speed rail, cross-border projects, joint demonstrations, and practical policy pilots can all make the case more convincingly than speeches alone.

Third, it can turn temporary exposure into permanent mechanisms. APEC should not be treated as a one-off showcase. Hong Kong should use the occasion to launch pilot initiatives on electronic contract recognition, cross-border qualification certification, and data circulation. It should also develop lasting forums that bring together policymakers, regulators, businesses, and experts to refine these ideas over time. The goal is not simply to host a successful event. The goal is to build institutional capacity that outlasts the summit.

BIOHK2026 this year could be a platform for industry-wide regulatory alignment (Online news photo)

Of course, Hong Kong cannot achieve this through financial strength alone. Its IPO success and talent inflow are important, but they are inputs, not outcomes. To convert them into strategic advantage, the city must address structural weaknesses. Its industrial base remains narrow. Cross-border regulatory coordination still lags behind ambition. Public understanding of APEC and of Hong Kong’s new strategic role remains limited. These gaps matter because a city cannot become an institutional integrator without domestic confidence, policy coherence, and social support.

That is why public communication is essential. Hong Kong’s residents need to understand that APEC is not just a conference for officials. It is an opportunity to strengthen the city’s long-term economic position, expand opportunities for young people, attract global resources, and reinforce Hong Kong’s relevance in a changing world. The government should explain clearly how integration supports jobs, innovation, professional mobility, and long-term growth. If the public sees APEC as relevant to everyday life, then the city will be better able to convert visibility into momentum.

Institutional integration contributes in the long run (Online news photo)

The stakes are high. If Hong Kong remains content to be only a connector, it risks gradual marginalisation as others build direct routes around it. But if it seizes this moment to become an institutional integrator, it can do something far more valuable: shape the environment in which capital, talent, and innovation move.

That is the real promise of APEC 2026. Not just another successful summit, but the beginning of a strategic shift. Not just another display of Hong Kong’s strengths, but the use of those strengths to build new rules, new mechanisms, and new advantages for the future.

If Hong Kong can make that transition, it will not only strengthen its own position as an international financial centre. It will also serve the country’s broader opening-up strategy by providing a proven model of how global standards and national priorities can be aligned. In that sense, Hong Kong’s next role is clear: not only to connect the world, but to help design the systems that connect it.

Prof. Lau Chi-pang, Chairman of SD Advocates

SD Advocates

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A society’s future depends on its talent in science and education. Professor Omar Yaghi, last year's Nobel Chemistry laureate, has just resigned from UC Berkeley to join Tsinghua University full-time. He will lead a research institute using AI to accelerate new materials development.

Professor Yaghi trades Berkeley for Tsinghua. (Online news photo)

His move is not an isolated case. Amid America's anti-immigration policies and research funding cuts, the US is losing scientists at its fastest pace in the last 10 years. More and more of them are turning to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong as academic havens.

Today, China and the US have different policies on science, education and nurturing talent. It offers real lessons for how Hong Kong should build its innovation economy and attract talent today.

The Tide of Talent Flowing East

After World War Two, the US brought in Europe's top scientists, including Einstein and Fermi. Washington hoped technology would boost its global competitiveness and cement its dominance.

Over the following decades, America became known for open immigration, abundant research funding, and a free academic climate. Its Ivy League schools drew students from around the world, forming a self-sustaining talent pipeline that let the US lead the globe in military, technology and medicine throughout the 20th century.

Today the picture looks very different. The Trump administration has slashed funding for research institutions, citing national security and fiscal savings. It has also restricted collaboration with research bodies in China, Russia and elsewhere. Stanford and Harvard have fallen into fiscal deficits and layoff crises as a result.

Admissions policy has tightened just as sharply. The government has raised visa thresholds, capped the percentage of international students some universities may enroll, and even revoked student visas outright. In July this year, the Department of Homeland Security shortened the maximum single-visit visa stay for international students and visiting scholars to under four years. It also cut the post-graduation departure grace period to just 30 days, making it far harder for overseas talent to stay.

These measures place political interests and ideology above respect for science and talent. The direct result is an exodus. Professor Charles Lieber, a leading figure in international nanotechnology, has also left the US to join Tsinghua University full-time. Astrophysicist Professor Bing Zhang and mathematician Professor Hà Văn Vũ have chosen the University of Hong Kong instead, while Fields Medal winner Ngô Bảo Châu joined HKU just last month.

Professor Ngô Bảo Châu picks HKU. (HKU photo)

Such cases are piling up, and more are yet to come.

China's Long Game on Science and Education

China's rise as a haven for top scientists is no accident. It reflects thirty years of steady work implementing the national strategy to "rejuvenate the nation through science and education." In the 1990s, facing intensifying global competition in technology, the state adopted this strategy as a fundamental national policy, putting science, technology and education at the heart of national development.

The state then launched the "985" and "211" projects, building over a hundred key institutions of higher learning and a number of leading academic disciplines. This propelled Chinese universities into the ranks of the world's best. Research funding has climbed steadily alongside these efforts.

In 2025, national spending on basic research reached RMB 277.8 billion, and China now ranks first globally in R&D personnel, top-tier journal publications, and international patent applications.

Pharmaceutical development shows what this investment can produce. The US long held undisputed dominance in innovative drug development. Yet in 2025, China approved 76 innovative drugs for market, surpassing the US for the first time. Eleven of these were first-in-class drugs, the hardest category to develop.

China's new drug approvals hit 76 in 2025. (CCTV photo)

China's total drug development pipeline reached 4,751 candidates in 2025, compared to the US's 4,019. Global early-stage drug development has shifted from a US-led model to a dual-center model shared between the US and China.

 A Window of Opportunity to Seize

Hong Kong faces a window of opportunity created by America's talent outflow. It must not act as a passive recipient. It has to seize the initiative and align with the goal of building itself into a talent hub and international education center.

For top scientific talent, Hong Kong offers unique and irreplaceable advantages. Its basic research foundation is solid, with five universities ranked among the world's top 100. Homegrown scientists such as Dennis Lo, Shing-Tung Yau and Lap-chee Tsui, along with dozens of fellows from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, add further depth.

Under the institutional advantages of "one country, two systems," Hong Kong connects conveniently to mainland markets and research systems. It also offers a common law system, a simple tax regime, and a trilingual environment, all of which make it easier for overseas talent to adapt to local life.

At the moment, the SAR government is pushing innovation, technology and talent attraction with unprecedented vigor. Chief Secretary Eric Chan has pointed to an approach of "using talent to drive technology, using technology to lead industry, and using industry to gather talent."

The SAR government is also actively pushing the development of the Northern Metropolis, as a future innovation hub. It has launched the "Study in Hong Kong" brand.

Results are already showing. In 2025, Hong Kong rose to fourth place globally and first in Asia in the World Talent Ranking published by Switzerland's IMD, while the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou technology cluster ranked first in the world.

Hong Kong climbs to 4th in world talent rankings. (ISD photo)

The fields suffering the heaviest US talent outflow are artificial intelligence, biomedicine and computer science. These happen to be exactly the areas Hong Kong is currently prioritizing for development.

Hong Kong should systematically leverage its own strengths and formulate precise strategies to bring in top overseas talent. It should proactively extend an olive branch to scientists seeking opportunities abroad, turning this moment of talent mobility into momentum for its own innovation leap.

From Lab to Industry

While attracting world-class research talent, Hong Kong must also streamline the pathway from university research to industrial application. This means reforming the current Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

Beyond valuing research output, the University Grants Committee (UGC) should also increase the weight given to technology transfer outcomes in its evaluations, to encourage scholars' enthusiasm for engaging with industry.

Compared with universities in Europe and America, Hong Kong's universities remain young. With appropriate policy support, they can effectively translate top laboratory research into production. There is considerable room, and great potential, for growth.

Some argue that Hong Kong, as an international financial center, need only excel in finance to drive other industries. In the past, Hong Kong modeled itself on Britain, treating finance as the pillar of economic development. Yet London, once ranked alongside New York and Hong Kong as a top international financial center, fell out of the world's top 20 IPO markets last year.

Hong Kong tops global IPOs. London misses the list. (Online news photo)

In the first half of 2025, the London Stock Exchange completed just five IPOs, raising only £160 million in total. That is the lowest half-year figure in 30 years, as Britain's financial industry continues to shrink.

This shows that finance alone cannot sustain a society's long-term future. Hong Kong should take this as a lesson. While safeguarding finance as its "golden signboard," it must also make full use of the mainland's vast hinterland as support and actively expand into education, innovation and technology, and other diverse industries. Only then can it stand at the forefront amid global upheaval.

2026 marks the opening year of the nation's 15th Five-Year Plan, and Hong Kong's own first five-year plan has already entered the public consultation stage. We must recognize the current landscape and proactively align with national strategy.

We must take up the tasks assigned to us under the 15th Five-Year Plan, so that we may become an international innovation and technology center sooner rather than later. America's regression stems from having forgotten this original mission. We, on the other hand, are charting our path forward through science and education.