For many years after regaining control of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997, China mostly respected the territory’s institutions. In 1997, China needed Hong Kong. When China became part of the trade organization in 2001, entrepôt trade through Hong Kong lost its importance. By some estimates, nearly half of China’s trade went through Hong Kong in 1997, today that figure is less than 12 percent. Hong Kong is still richer, but the gap is narrowing, with its per capita income now five times higher than China’s.

Source: International New York Times July 03, 2019 09:56 UTC