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Hong Kong has worked hard to build trade ties with the Middle East and Central Asia – and it's paying off. Our trade with Belt and Road countries jumped 17 percent to about HK$2.52 trillion last year, and it has grown nearly 80 percent since 2013, more than three times our overall trade growth. Not a bad report card for a decade's work.
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But the best friendships are rarely made in conference rooms – usually over dinner, ideally with a decent bottle on the table.
Greetings, everyone. I am Jonathan Lamport, Legislative Council Member (Commercial – First), and former Chairman of the Asia, Africa and Middle East Committee of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. This month's story proves the Belt and Road isn't just ports and pipelines – sometimes it's a secondary school friendship and a rather excellent bottle of vodka.
When our Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu visited Central Asia, media coverage made the region sound as distant as the moon. Funny, because my son could have told them otherwise – his closest school friend is from Kazakhstan. Two teenage boys bonding over homework – and probably too many video games – brought our families together in a bond that has outlasted most trade agreements.
His friend's parents actually met right here in Hong Kong as young exchange students, fell for the city, married, and settled here – quietly becoming a living bridge to Kazakhstan, which is now Hong Kong's largest trading partner in Central Asia, with regional trade up 27 percent since 2020. This family had the right idea before the economists caught up.
They recently brought back a bottle of fine local vodka. As a Burgundy man, I approach vodka the way a diplomat approaches unfamiliar territory – carefully, open-minded. I'll report back, assuming I remain capable of typing afterwards.
Real deals are built on real friendship long before contracts are signed. These grassroots bonds are already flourishing – in classrooms, at dinner tables, over a shared bottle. The wisest thing government can do is let them lead the way. The Silk Road was never really about silk. It was about people who liked each other enough to keep showing up.
Jonathan Lamport is a Legislative Council Member (Commercial – First)
