Hong Kong’s John Lee meets leaders of Indonesia, Singapore as Apec charm offensive enters second day
- Indonesia’s Joko Widodo asks Lee to look at ‘more balanced’ trade between the two as city leader thanks country for its support of application to join free trade group
- He later met Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the two joked about their punishing schedules
Hong Kong needs to balance its trade with Indonesia, despite the opportunities the city offered to tap into the mainland Chinese market, the Southeast Asian country’s president told the city’s leader on the sidelines of a high-level regional summit on Friday.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu met the leaders of Indonesia and Singapore on the second day of his debut overseas trip to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum in Bangkok with the aim of relaunching the city as a financial powerhouse.
Joko Widodo, the Indonesian president, spoke of his confidence that Hong Kong would develop an even stronger relationship with Indonesia.
“Hong Kong also has a significant potential … as an entry point for Indonesian exports to mainland China,” he added.
But Widodo highlighted that there was room for Hong Kong to achieve a “more balanced” trade with Indonesia and singled out the potential for development in the areas of “fisheries, processed food and spices”.
“Hong Kong investors can participate in developing infrastructure, transportation, green energy, digital transformation and value added industries,” said Jokowi.
