Hong Kong must remain an outward-looking economy and a free port to thrive, current and former leaders of the city’s trade promotion body have said, stressing the importance of working with mainland China and tackling challenges creatively.

Hong Kong Trade Development Council chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang and four of his predecessors spoke on Tuesday at a panel discussion marking the organisation’s 60th anniversary.

“Hong Kong has to maintain its outward-looking society and economy … The council plays a vital role in doing so, and it could manifest in many forms. The important part is maintaining this positioning,” former chairman Victor Fung Kwok-king said.

Fellow former chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching warned against a repeat of pandemic-era restrictions, urging that Hong Kong safeguard its core freedoms and that the council should press the government against any future shutdowns.

“Hong Kong is a free port with a free flow of goods, people, capital and information. We must keep these four,” he said. “The shutdown of Hong Kong during Covid-19 must not happen again.

“The council has to lobby the government to not repeat this. The price was too dear to pay.”