Hong Kong definitely to have better tomorrow: spokesman

The tomorrow of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) will definitely be better, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday, in commenting on Hong Kong’s return to the top three in global competitiveness ranking.

Hong Kong has climbed two spots to rank the third in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2025 published Tuesday by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development, marking the region’s return to the top three for the first time since 2019.

Most notably, Hong Kong ranks the first worldwide in tax policy and business legislation, according to the report.

“It is a recognition of Hong Kong’s unique position and strength, and the prospect of One Country, Two Systems. Hong Kong has entered a stage where it is set to thrive. It is becoming more attractive as an international financial center, and it is drawing more foreign companies and individuals to make investments and start new businesses. Hong Kong remains one of the world’s freest economies and most competitive regions,” said Guo Jiakun, the spokesman, at a press conference in Beijing.

“According to statistics, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) gained No.1 spot in global fundraising in the first half of this year, with a total amount of 14 billion U.S. dollars. The number of overseas visitors received by Hong Kong in the first five months of this year rose by 18 percent year on year, and a number of large international companies have redomiciled to Hong Kong. Those are votes of confidence for Hong Kong from the international community,” he said.

“The Hong Kong National Security Law will soon enter its fifth year of implementation. We believe that with the institutional safeguards of One Country, Two Systems, and given Hong Kong’s unique advantage of having the backing of the motherland and being connected to the world as well as a secure environment for high-quality development, Hong Kong is headed to an even brighter future,” said the spokesman.

The Palestinian death toll in the war-torn Gaza Strip has so far risen to 55,706, with 130,101 others injured, since the outbreak of the conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct 7, 2023, said Gaza’s health authorities on Thursday.

Over the past 24 hours, Israeli attacks have claimed 69 more Palestinian lives and injured 221 others, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave continues to deteriorate as the conflict rages on.

Israeli forces reportedly shelled a group of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in central Gaza on Thursday, killing at least 16 people and injuring multiple others.