Making travel to the mainland easier will only make Hong Kong more attractive to foreign firms and workers looking to make the city a home.

Hong Kong is already a significant trade and investment partner to members of RCEP, the world’s largest trade bloc. After the city’s membership is approved, it can help to harmonise trade rules, stimulate intra-bloc capital flows and foster connections and partnerships.

Hong Kong can add value to Southeast Asian economies as an education hub on the doorstep of the Greater Bay Area. The city must also be more proactive about attracting professionals, entrepreneurs and ultra-high-net-worth individuals from Asean.

Indonesia has big plans that Hong Kong can support, as a centre of trade and finance with green compliance expertise. Stronger cultural, tourism and academic ties also complement China’s strategic partnership with Indonesia.

Beijing’s vow to prioritise growth and global connections is the confidence boost the world needs. As a major source of trade and investment, and with an ever-growing circle of friends and partners, the significance of China’s return cannot be overstated.

As opportunities for cooperation between China and Asean grow, Hong Kong can benefit from its long-standing ties with both. What’s more, Hong Kong has the infrastructure and expertise to facilitate trade, investment and cultural changes between the two.

President Xi Jinping emphasised Hong Kong’s international status in an important speech on July 1. With more knowledge now of Covid-19, leading cities around the world have reopened. Hong Kong must catch up, and quickly.

The generation that spans Hong Kong’s colonial past and post-2047 future has a duty to help the city’s angry, disenfranchised youth out of the crisis so they can see a way to a better future. Hong Kong’s fate depends on it.