On the afternoon of October 14, the 4th Academic Salon for Ph.D. Students in Theoretical Economics in 2019 (the 46th in history) was staged smoothly by the China Center for Special Economic Zone Research (CCSEZR), Shenzhen University (SZU) at the International Conference Hall A. The keynote speaker of the salon was Prof. Li Zhilan, Professor of the Department of Public Policy at the City University of Hong Kong and Director of the Research Centre for Sustainable Hong Kong (CSHK). Prof. Li’s research interests cover relations between the central and local governments, government reform and public financial management. Her works have been published in major international academic journals and Hong Kong newspapers. In recent years, Prof. Li has focused on cross-border cooperation and sustainable development between Hong Kong and other regions. Prof. Yuan Yiming, Deputy Director of CCSEZR, presided over the salon and Dr. Yun Wenjie, a teacher of CCSEZR gave comments. Attending also were teachers, and graduate students from various colleges of SZU.
At the beginning of the lecture, Prof. Li Zhilan first introduced CSHK. Founded in Jun 2017, CSHK is a brand-new practical research center in the City University of Hong Kong for strategic development. Through interdisciplinary perspectives and the multi-party collaborations, it provides analysis and solutions to drive the sustainable development of Hong Kong, even Asia. Subsequently, Prof. Li gave a wonderful speech on the topic of “Hong Kong and the BRI”. The lecture consisted of three parts. The first part concentrated on “Diplomatic Challenges - Foreign Political Economy and China’s International Image” and the second was “Hong Kong’s Role in the BRI”. She mentioned that for the past few years Hong Kong officials had repeatedly stressed that Hong Kong should serve as a super contact between mainland China and international society. Prof. Li believed that Hong Kong boasted an edge under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy and great compatibility with international systems and cultures, and therefore could play a strategic role in China's future development, especially in the BRI. The third part of the lecture was about “Constructing the Belt and Road Hub with Soft Power”. Prof. Li Zhilan pointed out that Hong Kong had extensive experience in law, accounting, finance, economics and social sciences. Hence, in her view, China could leverage Hong Kong's experience to establish a hub for international lawyer cooperation, an international commercial financing platform, a credit rating mechanism and an interactive platform for the Belt and Road participation, to cultivate judicial talents for the mainland and help mainland enterprises align their practices to the business environment of countries involved in the BRI. At the end, Miss Li probed into “Role of Hong Kong in the BRI: From the Perspective of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”. She analyzed the advantages of Hong Kong and indicated that Hong Kong could act as a facilitator of in-depth institutional reform, a nest for high-tech development and independent innovation, and an important platform for enterprises to participate in the BRI.
After the lecture, the students passionately interacted and exchanged ideas with Prof. Li. And Prof. Li patiently responded to their questions about China’s international image, Hong Kong’s technological innovation, and Hong Kong youth’s entrepreneurship in Shenzhen.
Finally, all the teachers and students took a group photo, and the salon ended successfully.
(Correspondent: Chen Tianyou)
Prof. Li Zhilan gives a wonderful speech
Prof. Yuan Yiming presides over the salon
Dr. Yun Wenjie gives comments
A glimpse of the salon
Group photo
