One Belt, One Road, One CityU
By : Pui Chan, Michael Gibb
One Belt One Road (OBOR) has been a buzzword since the term was mentioned in the Policy Address that the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Leung Chun-ying delivered in January 2016. But how is CityU contributing to the debate? What do we have to offer?
OBOR refers to a series of initiatives promoted by mainland China’s leaders aimed at developing economic cooperation and connectivity between China and adjacent states.
The aim is to establish the Silk Road Economic Belt, which will link Asia with Europe and Africa, in much the same way that the Silk Road built connections more than 2,000 years ago. The hope is that this plan will revitalise economic development in these regions.
Professor Yan Houmin “CityU brings a great deal of expertise to OBOR through our courses, programmes and research”, explained Professor Yan Houmin, Dean of the College of Business (CB). “CityU is well positioned to equip Hong Kong companies and professionals with the knowledge and skills to get involved in this national strategy.”
CityU approaches OBOR by offering training in the myriad economic and legal challenges that the initiative creates.
“Take law, for example,” said Professor Yan, an expert in logistics and supply chain management enabling technologies. “OBOR encompasses many different legal systems, some of which might contrast significantly with the law in Hong Kong. But CityU has a great deal of expertise in helping others to navigate different legal systems.”
The same can be said for trade and banking, he said. Globalisation has brought many countries together in terms of greater connectivity but each country still has its own internal systems and infrastructure for conducting policy.
“CityU can bridge gaps and promote greater international understanding, by bringing people and ideas together,” he added.
The Research Centre on One-Belt-One-Road is at the forefront of CityU’s efforts to promote the economic prosperity of the countries along the Belt and Road.
By courtesy of MERICS“One of the ways we will be doing this is to run training programmes for government officials and business executives in public sectors, private enterprises and multinational corporations in the Greater China region in areas such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and/or OBOR strategies,” said Professor Yan.
Those who will benefit the most from the training include companies and organisations aiming to set up business in any other countries situated along the new Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
PPP is an area in which we are particularly strong in Hong Kong, but this sort of contract between government and private companies might not be so common in some of the countries through which OBOR will operate.
A training programme specifically on public-private partnership and OBOR was co-organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), CB and the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University in May 2017 at CityU.
“It was exciting that we had the United Nations taking part in that programme. UN representatives delivered lectures on the UN’s sustainable development goals, world trade issues, and so on,” he said. Participants had the opportunity to meet with ambassadors to the UN, World Trade Organization and Olympic Headquarters.
“We are the only institution in Hong Kong with such a partnership with UNECE,” Professor Yan said.
A number of CityU academics are offering their expertise for the OBOR initiative. Professor Leon Zhao Jianliang, Chair Professor of Information Systems of the Department of Information Systems, is looking into the development of government-incentivised crowdfunding platforms to fund multinational projects. Professor William Wan Piu of the Department of Management addresses the challenges of Chinese companies entering the Russian market. Chair Professor Jeff Hong Liu of the Department of Economics and Finance is an adopted in Muslim countries.
The Centre also has non-CB faculty. For example Dr Chang Zheng, Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, is an expert in PPP in China.
Another programme in the pipeline is a joint EMBA programme with Tsinghua University. The degree programme, which aims to start in September next year, will be available in both Chinese and English.
“Hong Kong has a long history of being at the heart of bringing together people from all over the world in a spirit of mutual cooperation. CityU can align itself with this tradition and employ its expertise in a number of disciplines to assist in the development of OBOR,” said Professor Yan.
