Ｈｏｎｇ Ｋｏｎｇ ａｓ ａ Ｔｒａｄｉｎｇ Ｈｕｂ：Ｅｎｔｒｅｐｏｔ ａｎｄ Ｂｅｙｏｎｄ

The latest trade and port cargostatistics indicate that HongKong's trade growth lags sub-stantially behind that ot malnlandChina. This has raised questions ofhow-and for how long-Hong Kongwill continue to benefit from theMainland's booming export trade.Hong Kong's status as a primary en-trepot for Mainland products is nowunder challenge. Hong Kong shouldnot ignore the fact that it may no lon-ger have comparative advantages inhandling physical exports from theMainland on their way to other desti-nations. By accepting this reality， theterritory can shift its energies to focuson areas in which it can still excel-namely， becoming a hub for the tradeof \"invisible\" goods and services， suchas offshore trade that is not reflectedin the statistics， and capital and finan-cial market instruments.