Hangzhou’s “Six Little Dragons” and other mainland Chinese tech firms could leverage Hong Kong’s financing capabilities and international access to expand overseas amid the US-China trade war, observers have said.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu met representatives from the six start-ups that upended the mainland’s tech scene on the second day of his visit to Zhejiang province on Wednesday and pledged to support their expansion into Hong Kong.
Observers said the firms’ potential presence in the city would improve Hong Kong’s research and development (R&D) landscape and commercialisation capabilities.
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Among the highlights of Lee’s second day of his four-day trip was his meeting with representatives of DeepSeek, which made headlines globally this year with its cost-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) model, and five other Hangzhou-based enterprises.
The others were Manycore Tech, Game Science, Deep Robotics, Unitree Robotics and BrainCo, which have risen to prominence in Hangzhou over the past two years and hold significant influence in the sector.
Manycore, operator of the world’s largest spatial design platform, applied for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong in February, three years after its attempt to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange lapsed. Video game studio Game Science developed the hugely popular Black Myth: Wukong.
Lee paid visits to brain-machine interface innovator BrainCo and humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics. A source said the reason was because both companies valued Hong Kong’s talent pool “very much”, with the city having five Top 100 institutions in Times Higher Education’s 2024 World University Rankings.
BrainCo told the Post it was “in talks” with the government for future expansion into the city. Founder and CEO Han Bicheng said the company had a great interest in Hong Kong given the talks were at an initial stage.
Unitree founder Wang Xingxing said it was possible for the company to list in the city although the plan was not yet confirmed. According to Hong Kong’s Companies Registry, Unitree Robotics Limited was incorporated on March 6 as a private company limited by shares and located in Kowloon Bay.
Lawmaker Johnny Ng Kit-chong, an entrepreneur who has incubated tech start-ups in Hong Kong, the mainland and South Korea, said the city could serve as a key intermediary and bridge for mainland companies looking to tap into global markets.
“It’s easier for tech companies to raise international funds through financing in Hong Kong ... Mainland companies are also able to list on the stock exchange under HKEX’s Chapter 18C listing rules,” Ng said.
The rules, introduced in April 2023, allow tech firms worth at least HK$10 billion (US$1.3 billion) to sell shares even before they make any revenue. The threshold is reduced to HK$6 billion for those with at least HK$250 million in revenue in the financial year before the share sale.
Ng said cutting-edge mainland tech firms establishing a presence in Hong Kong would bring tremendous benefits to the city, such as helping it overcome the challenges of commercialising technologies.
“These companies, in their pursuit of research projects, are likely to partner with local universities, which will draw in international talent ... These innovative [enterprises] will also be a magnet for local young people, ultimately elevating Hong Kong’s overall R&D capabilities,” Ng said.
I&T sector lawmaker Duncan Chiu said the advantages for these mainland companies to come to Hong Kong lay in the city’s mature infrastructure such as data flow, intellectual property, logistics and legal frameworks – all of which would help them expand internationally.
“Beyond serving the domestic market, they also need to go global, providing products and services to other countries,” he said.
“Hong Kong is exactly the right place for them regardless of whether the US imposes tariffs as technological development cannot stagnate.”
The firms’ potential expansion into Hong Kong comes amid the ongoing US tariff war. US President Donald Trump had imposed cumulative tariffs of 145 per cent on all Chinese goods over several rounds, with the White House also revealing the figure to be as high as 245 per cent on some goods.
Professor William Wong Kam-fai, associate dean of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s faculty of engineering, said the city should seize opportunities to strengthen its role as a “superconnector” to facilitate mainland firms to avoid “putting all its eggs in one basket” amid the trade tensions.
Veteran political commentator Sonny Lo Shiu-hing said Lee’s high-profile visits to tech firms in Hangzhou was a gesture to align with Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, who saw the Northern Metropolis megadevelopment near the mainland border as being of utmost importance.
Xia, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, inspected two special cooperation zones operated by the city and neighbouring Shenzhen in February.
“I believe Lee also wants to encourage more Hong Kong businesses and tech firms to go to Hangzhou to learn from its advancements and explore opportunities amid the US-China trade tensions,” Lo said.
“The goal is to facilitate breakthroughs in Hong Kong’s R&D, particularly in AI ... This trip demonstrates his efforts to strengthen those mainland connections.”
More from South China Morning Post:
- John Lee vows to support Hangzhou tech firms in expanding into Hong Kong
- Hong Kong’s John Lee to visit Zhejiang’s powerhouse cities to strengthen ties
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