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Hong Kong’s economy took a battering with the recession in 2019 and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. However, it has since rebounded and showed growth in 2021. According to Macrotrends, Hong Kong’s trade-to-GDP ratio was reported at 403.1% in 2021, a 52.4% increase from 2020. As the economy slowly recovers, businesses are presented with more opportunities to expand their business internationally and generate more revenue.
Hong Kong’s economy is primarily driven by international trade. They have established trade relations with markets across Asia, Europe, North America, and the Pacific. Countries in these regions import and export goods and services from and to Hong Kong throughout the year. Some of Hong Kong’s biggest exports as of 2022 include electronics (72%), articles of precious jewellery (1.5%), clothing (1.3%) and watches and clocks (1.2%), based on a study by HKTDC Research.
In this article, we summarise Hong Kong’s top trading partners and the popular exports to these regions.
Hong Kong operates as a special administrative region (SAR) in the Republic of China with its own government and economic policies. In 2003, Mainland China and Hong Kong signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). This allows both parties to trade goods with zero tariff benefits as long as they meet the CEPA rules of origin.
CEPA has helped countless Hong Kong exporters ship to China with ease. China accounts for 45.8% of Hong Kong’s total imports. According to the Trade and Industry Department (TID), major domestic exports were plastics, metalliferous ores and metal scrap, medicinal and pharmaceutical products, and cereals.
Taiwan is Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner. According to the Trade and Industry Department (TID) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the region exported HK$6.6 billion worth of goods to Taiwan in 2022 and imported goods valued at HK$587.4 billion in the same year. Taiwan’s market mostly depends on imports since its major economic output comes from the services sector. This sector contributes 60% of its GDP, according to NDTV Profit.
According to TID, major export products include non-ferrous metals, jewellery, precious or semi-precious materials, and metalliferous ores and metal scrap.