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I have to ask the question... Why is China so goddamn rich and how did Hong Kong became so insignificant compared to mainland? What happened in the mainland ex

• matthewrudy 10y ago
  An important role of Hong Kong over the past few decades has been as a "gateway to China". Technically China has been open for business for a long time, but the rule of law and peculiarities of Chinese business were less approachable for Western business. Hong Kong was right nextdoor, spoke English, and had a similar legal system to the UK, and respected copyright and intellectual property. If you were doing business in China, chances are you were going through Hong Kong or Taiwan. Gradually though, China has boomed, people have learnt English, and doing business directly with China has become more accessible. At the same time Hong Kong's rule of law has eroded and Singapore has taken it's place as the business hub of Asia.
• idra 10y ago
  China got rich due to massive foreign investments eager to exploit cheap Chinese labor after Deng Xiaoping's "Reform and opening" [1]. During the last three decades, using the foreign money, China has been building an impressive infrastructure supporting its export-oriented economy, but little else. After the labor cost went up, China doesn't have much left to offer the world anymore. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_economic_reform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_economic_reform