Hong Kong is a small city in Southern China, with huge arms that wrap around the world. Claimed as the world’s largest international port, this Asian City has quickly become a financial giant.  As a former British colony and with its newly acquired status as a Chinese Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong has a unique history that doesn’t limit it to eastern ideals.  This offers Hong Kong an economic perspective that engulfs change and growth, “the ability to maintain harmonious co-existence and even genuine collaboration between the socialist mainland and capitalist Hong Kong” (Chan: xvi) has given the city an extreme advantage to economic success despite politics.  Hong Kong is an international bridge to worlds of culture, finance, politics, travel  and communication.
        Why has Hong Kong become such a “Gateway to China and grown to become the most important economic crossroads in the world?”(www.tdc.org.hk/beyond97/supermkt.htm) Location provides the city doors to all areas, both western and Asian.  Hong Kong has just built the world’s largest and most technological airports, above and beyond what is expected for the busy airways of today.  This airport allows for larger planes and more traffic to come and go from Hong Kong, surely bringing in more tourism and businesses because travel to Asia will be easier, more costly, and with the airport scheduling flights round the clock, more timely travel.  The waterways, however, are the source for Hong Kong’s successes. Hong Kong is the "world’s 8th largest trading economy” (www.tdc.org.hk/beyond97/scoreboard.htm) Being the largest trading port also puts Hong Kong well into the mainstream of global finance, pushing forth with trade and financial institutions and leading the world in economics.
         The port allows for all to come into the city of Hong Kong to engage in trade of products, services and business. “Hong Kong’s free port status, liberal economic system, low taxation, and the arrival of business tycoons and capital from Shanghai brought about its famous economic miracle.” (Bonavia: 8)   Despite recent blows to the Asian market, as a whole, the region has exploded into a key financial region. Foreign investments and increased trade have provided for these underdeveloped Asian countries to compete in twenty-first century economics both freely and successfully.  Hong Kong offers a glimpse of how rapid change occurs and how profits and capitalism can be found in what was largely an anti-democratic region.
        The Chinese have gained from taking back Hong Kong, and despite fears of losing the economic freedom within the import/export market “China has made it a special condition of Special Administration Region status that Hong Kong should keep it’s role as a free port and international trade center.” (Bonavia: 78)  In fact, China has been open to successfully trade through the help of its SAR.  Hong Kong has many years of experience in international trade, as once belonging to one of Europe’s leaders in economic markets. “For decades Hong Kong has made a specialty of understanding, the market conditions in import countries… China does not have efficient or adaptable enough industries to do this” (Bonavia: 76), so the link China has made to the outside market has been a huge leap for catapulting this largely communist nation into capitalism and free trade.
        Hong Kong has profited from China as well, largely in moving industry and gathering laborers from the mainland for it’s expansion of private industries. Reunification has given many a chance to invest more into China without fear because there is such a strong and honored tie to trusted Hong Kong businesses being one of the largest sources of foreign investment. In fact,  China has invested largely into Hong Kong, contributing an amount equivalent to “US $43 billion."
(www.tdc.org.hk/beyond97/scoreboard.htm) to ensure that business remains profitable for all.
        Because China is so new in open trade there has been a  definite  “balancing act of
maintaining its openness on the one hand, and demonstrating its patriotic credentials to the…government.  Ultimately the SAR’s international character may be determined by the globalization and nationalization processes which are shaping developments not only in Hong Kong, but also in mainland China” (Chan: 194) The world is vastly opening doors to it’s neighbors, through advancements in communication, global capitalism and easier trade across borders without high tariffs and extreme governmetn interventions,  one can see a whole new outlook on business. Economic successes will be measured on an international market than a specific Asian or European scale, because the intermingling will be so vast,  determining what is specifically a Chinese market will be very blurred.
        The entrepreneurial spirit is supported by a 21st century infrastructure, an open, international business environment, and an emphasis on education and skills-particularly languages.” (www.tdc.org.hk/beyond97/scoreboard.htm) The open environment is in part due to Hong Kong’s prior position as an English colony and the Chinese being allowing that system continue, so that profit will continue to flourish .  There is a  large free trade market with few government  restrictions, this independence allows for lower taxes and less crime, "helping Hong Kong to create a more complete national economy with enhanced competitiveness in the world market." (Kakazu:87) Hong Kong is a model as to  where the financial successes of Asia and the world are headed, free and open markets will be the path to future economics.
        A large portion of Hong Kong's success is due in part to the Hong Kong Tourist Association that was established in 1957.  Toursim and shopping bring into China an estimated 11.7 million visitors every year, according to HKTA's web site.  The HKTA has also " actively persuaded local and overseas organizations to bring to Hong Kong more conventional and incentive travel business.  This area is worth more developing because visitors coming for such travel tend to stay twice as long and spend three times as much as leisure visitors."  Areas such as Kowloon and Central Hong Kong attract many to come to open markets and have a chance to purchase high quality goods for cheap prices.  Shopping extends Hong Kong as almost a global mall, expanding a small island off the coast of China and forever changing and challenging unviersal economics.

                                                           Source Citations
Bonavia, David
    (1985)  Hong Kong 1997 The Final Settlement. Hong Kong: South China Morning Press Ltd.

Chan, Ming (ed)
    (1997)  The Challenge of Hong Kong's Reintegration with China.  Hong Kong: Hong Kong   
    Universtiy Press

Kakazu, H., Tang, M., Thant, M. (eds.)
    (1994)  Growth Triangles in Asia, A New Approach to Regional Economic Cooperation.
    Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.