Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan today in Nanning, Guangxi, attended the China-ASEAN Commercial Law Forum to promote the advantages of Hong Kong's legal services in bringing in enterprises and facilitating Mainland enterprises in going global, with a view to fostering ties between Hong Kong and Guangxi to support Mainland enterprises expanding their business in overseas markets.

Mr Cheung said the forum would help strengthen legal protection for regional economic and trade co-operation and deepen the understanding of Guangxi and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in leveraging Hong Kong's unique advantages to go global.

A parallel forum of the 22nd China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit, the event attracted over 300 attendees, including legal and business professionals, representatives from lawtech companies and academics from Mainland and ASEAN countries.

Addressing the forum, Mr Cheung said that to contribute to the high-quality development of the Belt & Road Initiative, the rule of law must continue to be strengthened.

He noted that for fostering a world-class business environment that is international, market-oriented, and based on the rule of law, Hong Kong can provide a range of high-quality professional services, including financial and international legal services.

Elaborating on the characteristics of Hong Kong's legal system that earns international trust, Mr Cheung said that Hong Kong, with its wealth of international legal talents, advanced lawtech, a unique bilingual common law system that is stable, convenient, secure, trustworthy, and interfaces with Mainland's legal system, has a legal framework unique in the world. It can effectively implement various projects under the Belt & Road Initiative.

He also mentioned that Hong Kong is actively promoting the use of innovative technologies, such as blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, to build capacity for meeting the rapidly growing demand for cross-border dispute resolution services, and to develop into a lawtech centre and hub.

Upon his arrival yesterday, Mr Cheung met Director-General of the Department of Justice of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Li Daojun. They had in-depth discussions on strengthening co-operation between the legal sectors of the two places, especially in the areas of commercial mediation, arbitration, and training of foreign-related legal talent.

Mr Cheung said that with the country advancing high-level opening up, now is the time for Mainland enterprises to expand globally.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong, enjoying the advantage of connecting the Mainland and the world under the “one country, two systems” principle, is the only common law jurisdiction in China and also a major international legal and dispute resolution services centre in the Asia-Pacific region.

With world-class professional services in fields such as law, accounting, finance and tax, Hong Kong can serve as a two-way platform for enterprises to go global and attract external investment.

Mr Cheung added that in the 2025 Policy Address announced yesterday, he is tasked with promoting Hong Kong's legal services and will collaborate with other professional service sectors, such as accounting and finance, to support Mainland enterprises wishing to expand overseas.

He said this trip is of great significance in promoting the complementary advantages between Hong Kong and Guangxi, creating room for development for legal services in both places, and providing robust support for Mainland enterprises to expand overseas.