The initiative, introduced by President Xi Jinping 11 years ago to rebuild the ancient Silk Road in 140 countries, involves building roads, ports, railways and power plants to promote trade flow, backed by funding from China’s state-run development bank.
“This milestone is another tangible illustration of Hong Kong’s determination to expand tax trading equity,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday. It highlights “our commitment to boosting ties and relations with developing local economies,” he added.
Lee said this at the 5th Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation forum. The three-day event at the Asia WorldExpo has attracted more than 400 tax officials, experts and academics.
Hong Kong has signed 15 comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements since 2003, Lee added, with 60 per cent of them in belt and road jurisdictions. Turkey was Hong Kong’s 29th largest trading partner last year, according to data published by the city’s Trade Development Council.
Total trade between Hong Kong and Turkey grew by 60 per cent from 2014 and 2023. Hong Kong’s major exports were engines and motor parts (US$306 million), telecommunication equipment (US$302.3 million) and computers (US$149.7 million). Turkey’s biggest exports to Hong Kong was jewellery (US$563.2 million) and engines and motor parts (US$72.8 million).
