Hong Kong needs to look beyond internal disagreements and move forward for continuous development, said a group of local business leaders on Tuesday.

With unparalleled advantages among all mainland cities, Hong Kong is in a unique position to benefit from growth in the region. However, it has to seize the opportunities, be realistic and move forward, an SAR government official and business magnates told a financial summit in Hong Kong.

"A free, open, well-connected and regulated economy is our critical strength," said Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Ceajer Chan Ka-keung.

"Our strategic location at the doorstep of the Chinese mainland and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members is not to be dismissed even in the digital age. The world has no less demand, if not more, of a trading port for information, ideas and knowledge between different cultures and societies," he said.

He noted that, instead of being "just another coastal city of China", Hong Kong, proud of its rule of law and established status as the world's third largest financial center, will continue to flourish as the top regional center where the East meets the West.

However, the city was choked in stagnant atmosphere in recent years, said Anthony Wu, a committee member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. The SAR's public sector has become rather inefficient in the past few years, he said.

David Wong Yau-kar, permanent honorary president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, agreed.

"I don't think anywhere else in the world has the opportunity we have here. However, we have somehow failed to capitalize on them," Wong said.

He stressed that in the past, the local economy was largely driven by demand on the mainland. While this is likely to continue, internally, there are a lot of leg-dragging social discontents, he said.

"Political disagreement is a big problem. But we cannot put too much hope in resolving them any time soon. We cannot afford to stand still," Wong argued, adding that the issues could remain a major challenge in the next decade.

"Hong Kong needs to find a way forward," said Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group. He believed that, eventually, the city's integration with the Pearl River Delta region will make it a "much stronger place".

"The year 2015 is to be very important. Universal suffrage is the key to the success of Hong Kong," he said.

"We already enjoy a high level of freedom - free flow of information, goods and capital. These are what people elsewhere fighting for democracy are after," said Wu.

"If we can move forward with universal suffrage under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, we can serve as a reference model for political reform on the mainland," said Michael Tien Puk-sun, a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council and a National People's Congress deputy.

emmadai@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 12/11/2014 page8)