CY Leung says Hong Kong should help Qinghai products reach global marketplace

Leung says Hong Kong, with its testing and trading capacities, should help mainland Chinese products enter the global marketplace

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From left to right, Luo Dongchuan, the governor of mainland China’s Qinghai province, and ex-Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 8:30am, 22 Feb 2025Updated: 3:10pm, 22 Feb 2025

Hong Kong should help agricultural products from mainland China’s Qinghai province enter the global market by providing quality verification and branding services, former chief executive Leung Chun-ying said on Friday.

Leung said Hong Kong, with its sophisticated testing and trading capacity, could help mainland Chinese products “cover the last mile” before entering the global marketplace.

“Many mainland products are of high quality, but it remains a problem to be acknowledged by other countries,” said Leung, who is a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

He added that the Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre, a not-for-profit inspection and certification organisation, could help mainland Chinese products meet global standards.

“This, in the long run, could be an area of growth for the Hong Kong economy, other than financial services,” he said at a partnership launch ceremony for Hong Kong catering group Maxim’s Group and the mainland’s northwestern Qinghai province.

Under the cooperation scheme, Hongkongers will be able to taste Cantonese cuisine made with produce from Qinghai – including goat, yak, and wolfberry – at 22 Maxim’s Chinese restaurants in the city.

They would be able to purchase Qinghai food at Maxim’s branches at affordable prices, the restaurant group said. A new e-commerce website would also be introduced to sell Qinghai produce to Hong Kong consumers.