Xi made the remarks upon his arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport for a three-day trip. He will attend celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland and the inauguration of the HKSAR’s fifth-term government. He will also inspect the SAR.

On his first trip outside Beijing after becoming general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in late 2012, Xi Jinping laid flowers before a statue of late leader Deng Xiaoping on a hillside in Shenzhen, which neighbors Hong Kong.

Coming down the hill, a journalist from Hong Kong asked Xi, “General Secretary, do you have anything to say to your Hong Kong compatriots?” 
Xi’s answer was short but powerful, “Hong Kong will prosper.” Five years on, Xi’s confidence has been translated into solid reality.

Two decades after Hong Kong was handed back to China under the “one country, two systems” formula, the region is doing better than ever.

Despite various prophets of doom, the Special Administrative Region (SAR) has remained a center of international finance, shipping and trade, and has been recognized as one of the world’s freest and most competitive economies.