Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu recently said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government aims to release a public-consultation document for the city’s first five-year plan this quarter, with the official document to be finalized and published by the end of the year. Based on the Chinese mainland’s experience, the preliminary research for a five-year plan typically takes 18 months to two years. Given Hong Kong’s tight schedule, the upcoming public consultation must be highly targeted, comprehensive, and in-depth, while ensuring the process is swift, efficient, and consensus-driven. To achieve this, several key issues must be addressed.

For the public consultation to achieve its intended results, the public must first have a correct understanding of what a “five-year plan” entails. Some residents still mistakenly equate it with “rigid directives”, dismissing it as the standard economic playbook of a socialist system. This perception is flawed. Economic planning is not the fundamental difference between socialism and capitalism; “development planning” and “free market” are not mutually exclusive, but rather, complementary.

Lee offered an insightful explanation of this relationship during a meeting with heads of government departments recently. He said that Hong Kong’s five-year plan will be a forward-looking, strategic, and actionable guiding document that integrates “a capable government” with “an efficient market”. It will chart the course for future development and provide a clear road map and timetable for the city’s socioeconomic and livelihood development. The core of this message is twofold. First, the plan must be forward-looking, strategic, and operational. “Forward-looking” means, among other things, to discern major trends in the technological revolution and industrial transformation, to better prepare for upgrading traditional industries and fostering emerging ones, and to formulate contingency plans for potential risks of various kinds. “Strategic” means to skillfully manage the pace of development, balance interests, and ensure steady yet robust progress in all endeavors through better overall coordination. “Operational” requires the plan to align with national strategies while fitting Hong Kong’s actual conditions to ensure effective implementation.

Second, the plan must embody the principle of integrating “a capable government” with “an efficient market”. Operating a free economy does not mean the government should take a hands-off approach; rather, it should take a proactive approach in promoting development. But the government must make sure that it sets the correct direction and focuses on the right things. The five-year plan serves as a binding policy agenda for the government and an indicative barometer for the market. Once implemented, it must be followed through until its completion, with continuity undisrupted by government transition. This policy certainty will reassure both foreign investors and local enterprises, alleviating concerns about unpredictable policy shifts.

As an international metropolis, Hong Kong boasts distinct advantages and enjoys a unique role in the country’s overall development strategy. Therefore, the formulation of the city’s five-year plan must precisely align with the national 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) without attempting to be all-encompassing. It requires both a broad vision to see the big picture and a focus on key areas with targeted measures.

The national blueprint assigns Hong Kong two major tasks: Develop the city into an international innovation-and-technology (I&T) center and a global hub for high-caliber talent; and participate in national endeavors to build a modern industrial system, develop new quality productive forces, and advance high-standard, or institutional, opening-up. Achieving “precise alignment” requires Hong Kong to successfully fulfill both tasks.

Furthermore, resources must be allocated systematically and rationally based on Hong Kong’s new role in the national development strategy. For instance, land and human capital should be allocated to meet the needs of I&T development. This requires increasing investment in areas of urgent need while appropriately setting aside other areas for future development.

The formulation of Hong Kong’s five-year plan should ultimately achieve both vertical alignment with overall national strategy and horizontal synergy with Greater Bay Area partner cities. The former secures robust national support, while the latter effectively integrates resources across the Greater Bay Area

Additionally, the plan’s execution must be driven by concrete metrics. As stated above, Lee emphasized that the five-year plan will chart the course for future development, providing a clear road map and timetable for the city’s socioeconomic progress and livelihood improvements. To serve as a true road map and timetable, it requires concrete targets. For example, the plan should establish specific goals for public housing supply, land development, population, and industrial upgrading over the next five years, accompanied by a regular review mechanism to ensure effective implementation.

In drafting its first five-year plan, Hong Kong must also carefully navigate its dual relationship with the national plan and the development plans of partner cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This requires vertical alignment, horizontal synergy, and overall differentiation. Vertically, Hong Kong must benchmark against the goals and tasks set in the national 15th Five-Year Plan, particularly its strategic positioning as “10 centers and two hubs”. Hong Kong needs to clearly define its objectives, tasks, and policy measures for its role in overall national development.

Horizontally, the five-year plans of each Greater Bay Area partner city are supposed to fit together like a coordinated puzzle. Hong Kong thus must put significant effort into fostering synergy with other Greater Bay Area cities. In the I&T sector, for example, Hong Kong’s focus is on research and development, Shenzhen’s is on pilot testing and advanced manufacturing, and Dongguan’s is primarily on mass manufacturing. This allows for a clear division of labor and collaborative operations.

Finally, the development strategies of Greater Bay Area cities must reflect differentiation. Given the varying industrial endowments and functional positioning of each city, they must steer their development plans away from engaging in a rat race. They must act as partners, not rivals.

In summary, the formulation of Hong Kong’s five-year plan should ultimately achieve both vertical alignment with overall national strategy and horizontal synergy with Greater Bay Area partner cities. The former secures robust national support, while the latter effectively integrates resources across the Greater Bay Area.

The author is vice-chairman of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.