THE private secretary of the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has said he continues to take a positive view on Hong Kong.

Lord Charles Powell, the private secretary to Thatcher from 1983-1989, said: “I think Hong Kong has been fortunate and China has been fortunate — so I don’t have any regrets about what was agreed in 1984.”

Powell said some young Hong Kong people were ignorant of the history of the SAR and did not know the details of the Joint Declaration. “It was always recognized that sovereignty would be with China, and therefore China would have, obviously, a say in the way that the territory was run,” Powell said.

The Joint Declaration eliminated the fears of the business community at that time, he added.

Eric Berti, consul general of France in the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, said Hong Kong “can be very proud of itself” for its achievements during the past 20 years.

“We have about 800 French companies currently present in Hong Kong, 30 percent of which are big companies. We also have a growing French community here, which has doubled to over 20,000 people since 2008,” Berti said. “It shows the capacity of attraction of Hong Kong.”

“For foreign companies, especially for French companies, it is very important to be able to settle here for the wider Chinese market,” he said. “So for us, Hong Kong is both an important market and a place where you can find rule of law, good infrastructure and good services.”

On the challenges Hong Kong may face in its future development, Berti said the main challenge may be competition from surrounding cities, “so Hong Kong must improve innovation.” He proposed further cooperation between France and Hong Kong in developing new capacities such as FinTech.

Hong Kong ranked first again this year in the International Institute for Management and Development’s world competitiveness index. Kurt Tong, U.S. Consul General to the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, attributed Hong Kong’s competitiveness, including its status as a global financial center and its role as a major regional provider for professional services, such as accounting, deal-making, consulting and legal services, to “the high degree of autonomy” it enjoys under the “one country, two systems” framework.

Tong said he saw good reasons for Hong Kong’s appeal to investors and traders. “Plus, Hong Kong is also known for its fine standard of living, great culture and the world’s longest life expectancy.”(Xinhua)