Leaders | Conduit’s end

Can Hong Kong remain a conduit between China and the world?

Its future as a financial centre depends on nothing less

CHINA AND America have begun the fraught business of disentangling their financial systems. Chinese firms with shares listed in New York have rushed to float in Hong Kong, too, after the White House signalled they are not welcome on Wall Street. The latest is NetEase, a Chinese gaming firm that began a $3bn listing this week. But now Hong Kong itself, the world’s third-biggest international financial centre, has become a geopolitical flashpoint. Its unique role as the conduit between global capital markets and China’s inward-looking financial system means that both sides must tread carefully.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Conduit’s end?”

The fire this time: Police violence, race and protest in America

From the June 6th 2020 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition
Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference on planned major investments, in Berlin, Germany on March 4th 2025

A fantastic start for Friedrich Merz

The incoming chancellor signals massive increases in defence and infrastructure spending

A Team Dover Airman loads weapons cargo bound for Ukraine onto a C-17 Globemaster III during a security assistance mission at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware

The lesson from Trump’s Ukrainian weapons freeze

And the grim choice facing Volodymyr Zelensky


Ukrainian President Zelensky Visits Downing Street Ahead Of European Leaders Summit

Western leaders must seize the moment to make Europe safe

As they meet in London, Vladimir Putin will sense weakness


Prabowo Subianto takes a chainsaw to Indonesia’s budget

The result? More money for the president’s boondoggles

Inheriting is becoming nearly as important as working

More wealth means more money for baby-boomers to pass on. That is dangerous for capitalism and society