Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced the city's first-ever Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development covering 2026 to 2030 on September 16. This landmark initiative coincides with the opening year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan, representing a major step by the SAR government to strengthen executive-led governance and enhance administrative effectiveness. The plan serves as a strategic framework to proactively align with national development priorities, deepen integration into the broader national landscape, and unite community efforts to propel Hong Kong from stability to prosperity while pursuing high-quality growth.
Crafted based on Hong Kong's unique circumstances, the five-year blueprint outlines medium and long-term development strategies, clarifying development directions, policy objectives, strategic priorities, and implementation pathways. It features practical and effective policy measures and major projects tailored to Hong Kong's characteristics. Through this comprehensive planning approach, the government aims to sharpen developmental focus, optimize resource allocation, stabilize social expectations, and better safeguard the well-being of citizens and the interests of investors. The ultimate vision is to build a more open, inclusive, free, prosperous, and secure Hong Kong that serves as a vital bridge connecting the nation with the world and stands as an increasingly attractive, vibrant, and opportunity-rich international metropolis.
A central pillar of the plan involves positioning 人工智能 (artificial intelligence) as a key industry for Hong Kong's future growth, leveraging the technology to empower various sectors. The strategy calls for a multi-dimensional enhancement of the AI ecosystem through the continued implementation of the "AI+" initiative. This includes strengthening cross-sector integration, deepening the development and utilization of data resources, and fostering greater synergy with mainland China. Substantial efforts will be directed toward expanding computing infrastructure, notably through the development of the Sha Ling Data Park, to provide robust support for AI-related industries. The government will also review legal frameworks to facilitate broader AI and data applications, ensuring Hong Kong's laws remain current and establishing a favorable regulatory environment. Additional measures include supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in adopting AI technologies and enhancing public AI literacy so citizens can enjoy safe and convenient digital lifestyles. Strategies will be developed to promote industrial transformation driven by AI, focusing on life sciences and embodied intelligence.
On the financial front, the plan emphasizes strengthening Hong Kong's role as the world's largest offshore renminbi business hub. This involves expanding the scale of offshore RMB operations, continuously improving the offshore RMB ecosystem, and enhancing liquidity support. A liquidity supplement mechanism for the offshore market will be established, alongside accelerating product innovation and diversification to create a comprehensive, multi-tiered RMB cross-border circulation network that improves financing stability. The plan also promotes the use of RMB as a government payment currency and aims to strengthen the offshore market's ability to support the real economy, particularly in trade, investment, and cross-border business expansion. Efforts will also focus on facilitating the use of RMB for enterprises engaged in cross-border trade and simplifying currency exchange with other regions.
To optimize the international bond market, the plan outlines a coordinated approach involving primary market issuance, secondary market liquidity enhancement, offshore RMB business expansion, and fixed-income and currency infrastructure development. The "Bond Connect" (Southbound Trading) will be improved with continued optimization and expansion in investment scale, investor scope, product offerings, and trading arrangements. More mainland institutions will be encouraged to invest in Hong Kong's bond market, while the channels and transaction volumes of "Stock Connect," "Bond Connect," "Wealth Management Connect," and "Private Fund Connect" will be broadened. The plan also proposes using gold as an entry point to build a commodity trading ecosystem, driving the coordinated development of gold trading settlement systems, warehousing, supply, and infrastructure. Long-term goals include benchmarking against major international gold trading centers through dual-track hardware and software development, accelerating infrastructure construction for efficient and credible international-standard gold trading, and providing comprehensive support for more bullion dealers and financial institutions to establish operations in Hong Kong.
Significant emphasis is placed on enhancing Hong Kong's gold warehousing capacity and refining capabilities while strengthening local talent cultivation and exploring preferential policies for gold-related enterprises. Deeper cooperation between local and mainland gold markets will be pursued through active promotion of connectivity and the development of one-stop storage, trading, clearing, and service centers to build an integrated gold ecosystem. The plan also explores developing RMB-denominated gold and commodity markets, strengthening collaboration with mainland exchanges such as the Shanghai Gold Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange, attracting greater international investor participation, and expanding RMB-priced products.
The plan addresses multiple strategic areas including establishing Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub, developing the Northern Metropolis as a growth engine for education, technology, and industry, strengthening the city's role as a super-connector in the Greater Bay Area, and improving people's livelihoods across housing, healthcare, education, and social welfare. It also commits to promoting green transformation, enhancing security governance including cybersecurity and emergency response capabilities, and reforming public governance to be more efficient and digitally driven.
Implementation of the five-year plan will be supported by a robust governance mechanism linking the plan with annual policy addresses, budget allocations, and reporting to the central government. Officials will conduct dynamic monitoring, mid-term assessments, and final evaluations to ensure progress. This first five-year plan marks a significant milestone in Hong Kong's governance journey, representing not just a strategic document, but a roadmap for the city to seize opportunities, strengthen its competitive advantages, and chart a course toward sustainable prosperity under the "one country, two systems" principle.
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