The most momentous event since our last March-April issue, without a doubt, had to be the visit of President Donald Trump to China to meet with President Xi Jinping in mid-May 2026.  The length of the Summit was less than 48 hours, but it was viewed by both leaders to be meaningful and significant, coming at this time of strained US-China relations.  

While details were being hashed out by both countries until the day President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on May 14, and during the visit as well, things took off positively, with China declaring it wants a “constructive strategic relationship” with the US.  While Trump did not specifically say he agreed with this term, his words in public seemed to be aligned with this vision.  

Yes, there were issues whose resolution might not have met expectations, but on a macro level, the visit was a success, with both sides realizing that a confrontational stance between the two biggest economies in the world benefits no one.  Details were few during the visit, but information has been coming out gradually.  There have been indications of aircraft and grain purchases, relaxation of rare earth export controls, and the setting up of a Board of Trade and a Board of Investment to discuss in depth issues on tariffs, technology, investments and market access.

For our members in Hong Kong, any improvement of the difficult relationship is welcome. Although they are determined to compete in this market, the worry of geopolitical tensions and deterioration of US-China relations has dominated the AmCham Business Sentiment Surveys in recent years.  Our members are realistic and realize that the relationship is fraught with obstacles. Any positive development can be derailed by some incident or by initiatives taken by one side or the other.  

However, as of our publication date in May, having seen the two presidents agreeing that each country cannot do without the other, and that cooperation while competing is the future, business sentiment is slowly buoyed. Furthermore, the way China welcomed American business executives during this Summit leads American businesses in Hong Kong to feel cautiously optimistic about their efforts.

At our flagship China Conference at the end of April, keynote speakers like Kishore Mahbubani and Zoe Liu and two panel of experts actually analyzed “cooperation while competing” from both a technology and market standpoint, just before the Summit.  

You will find the keynote speech by Mahbubani in the cover story, as well as a description of the Conference in this issue.  Finally, you will be fascinated with the CEO interview with Joanne Hon, the Hong Kong head of the world’s largest data center company, Equinix, as she tells e-magazine how she and the company navigate the landscape here, fulfilling the demand for more data centers, as Hong Kong’s positioning evolves in a geopolitically tense world.  I hope you enjoy this issue!

Eden Woon
President
AmCham HK