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John Lee policy address 2026
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SCMP Editorial
Editorial
SCMP Editorial

Dual policy plans will help Hong Kong grab new opportunities

Hong Kong’s first five-year plan and the chief executive’s latest policy address set the right macro directions for the city’s development

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Chief Executive John Lee holds up copies of the booklets detailing Hong Kong’s first five-year plan, with a blue cover, and the policy address, which retains its iconic green design, at the government’s headquarters in Admiralty, on September 15. Photo: Silvia Siu
SCMP Editorial
Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
A new chapter is unfolding with Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiling two much-anticipated documents crucial to the next critical phase of Hong Kong’s development. The joint release of the city’s first five-year plan and Lee’s fifth policy address, the final one of his current term, is no routine policy cycle. It is a pivotal moment that shapes the city’s trajectory up to 2030 and beyond, aligning a visionary blueprint with state development strategies, setting concrete targets and outlining measures to ensure that national priorities and local livelihoods advance in tandem for the mutual benefit of the city and the country.

The 28-chapter plan comprises clear goals and indicators for enhancing core and new industries as well as public governance and people’s livelihoods while the 103-page policy address lists 25 key livelihood initiatives, such as the pro-fertility bonus and tax incentives as well as AI adoption and risk governance. There is also a wide range of economic measures, including enhancing global offshore renminbi business, green finance and gold trading. Lee said the five-year plan was a pivotal milestone for Hong Kong’s new journey “from stability to prosperity”. “Not only is it an action agenda for Hong Kong to better integrate into and serve the overall national development, but also the strategic plan gearing up Hong Kong to capitalise on the aggregate advantages arising from the national and international opportunities, as well as a sustained pathway to enhancing social well-being,” he said.

The five-year plan should not be seen as replacing free markets with a planned economy, nor is it a top-down and centralised control over what individual sectors must do. Rather, it enables strategic planning so Hong Kong can better grasp opportunities arising from national development while adapting to fast-changing geopolitical uncertainties. Lee has said that the existing governing model of “one country, two systems”, the rule of law and the capitalist system will be upheld.

The release of the two documents is unique in Hong Kong’s history. This is the city’s first five-year plan to align with the country’s blueprint up to 2030. The Hong Kong plan sets out how the city will move along with national policies in areas such as innovation and technology, international finance, trade and logistics, and regional integration, along with measures to speed up the Northern Metropolis mega-project and initiatives to improve education and housing. Efforts to strengthen mainstream media’s overseas reach have also been incorporated into the five-year blueprint, which means the government will continue to facilitate the development of a healthy media ecosystem.

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