Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday that Hong Kong is uniquely positioned to connect the Greater Bay Area (GBA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

He made the remarks at the South China Morning Post GBA-Asean Summit 2026, where he stressed that the SAR can help facilitate trade, investment, and innovation between the two "dynamic economic engines".

The CE noted that more companies from Asean are now operating in the SAR, taking advantage of the city’s unique strengths to access the mainland market.

"Hong Kong also supports the expansion of Chinese mainland companies to promising overseas markets like Asean. I am confident it will create unlimited opportunities for Hong Kong, as well as Asean," he added.

Meanwhile, Lee said Asean has been the SAR's second largest merchandise trading partner for the past 16 years, with bilateral trade in goods rising by 29 percent year on year to reach US$214 billion in 2025.

He called on Asean leaders to support Hong Kong’s bid to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (Rcep), the world's largest free trade bloc.

"I take the opportunity to appeal for the continuing support of Asean leaders, and stakeholders here today, to help champion Hong Kong's accession to Rcep," he said.



Edited by Priscilla Ng