The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government has taken key steps in promoting economic and trade cooperation with the Central Asian region. According to a report by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong SAR, recently stated publicly that the SAR government is actively following up on the cooperation consensus reached during the Chief Executive's visit to Central Asia this June. This policy objective aims to eliminate tax barriers to bilateral trade and investment through the signing of tax agreements, thereby promoting economic interaction between Hong Kong and Central Asian countries. Currently, Hong Kong has completed tax agreement negotiations with the Republic of Kazakhstan and will formally sign them once both sides complete their respective internal procedures.

In addition, the Hong Kong government also plans to initiate tax agreement negotiations with the Republic of Uzbekistan within this year, demonstrating a proactive attitude toward aligning financial and tax regulations between Hong Kong and the Central Asian region.

Regarding physical activities for economic and trade exchange, the "China Conference: Central Asia 2026," co-hosted by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), was successfully held on September 7 in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. As a regional high-level dialogue platform, the forum brought together representatives from political, financial, and academic circles to jointly explore cooperation opportunities between China and Central Asian countries under the "Belt and Road" initiative.

The holding of this forum not only reflects the intensity of cross-regional trade cooperation but also further strengthens Astana's status as a financial hub in Central Asia, providing a foundation for dialogue for subsequent investment matching and industrial chain integration.

However, while economic and trade cooperation continues to deepen, the security environment in Central Asia remains a focus of international observation. According to an analysis by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University, although Central Asia did not experience large-scale terrorist attacks in 2023, the terrorist threat posed by militants in the region to overseas areas persists. Furthermore, Voice of America (VOA), citing the views of a former president of Afghanistan, pointed out that the United States' 20-year military intervention in Afghanistan failed to achieve its intended results in combating extremism and maintaining regional stability.

These security-related challenges contrast with the optimistic outlook for economic and trade cooperation, indicating that the development environment in Central Asia is still influenced by complex geopolitical and regional security trends.

For relevant industries and policies, the signing of tax agreements by Hong Kong with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will have a substantive impact on Hong Kong companies intending to expand into the Central Asian market. The signing of tax agreements is expected to reduce the double tax burden on enterprises and improve the efficiency of capital flow, which is positively attractive to industries such as financial services, logistics and transportation, and infrastructure construction. However, when planning for these markets, companies must take regional security risks into account. The political stability of Central Asian countries, the transparency of their legal systems, and potential extremist threats within the region are all key variables affecting the long-term investment environment. Policymakers and investors will inevitably need to strike a balance between economic dividends and risk management when promoting cooperation.

Regarding the aforementioned information, there are significant differences in perspectives across various sectors. Some observers believe that through platforms such as the Astana International Financial Centre, Central Asian countries can more effectively integrate with international financial markets, thereby driving regional economic transformation. However, other views point out that the Central Asian region has long been influenced by geopolitical maneuvering, and it remains to be seen whether simple economic and trade agreements can overcome the deep-seated security and governance issues within the region. Furthermore, countries have adopted different response strategies to the security vacuum left by the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has led to asymmetry in the depth and breadth of regional cooperation among different nations.

Therefore, the interpretation of relevant economic and trade information should not be overly optimistically viewed as a guarantee of regional stability, but rather as an attempt by all parties to seek economic complementarity in a complex geopolitical environment.

Subsequent observation should focus on three aspects: First, the progress of the final signing of the tax agreement between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan, and the specific timeline for negotiations with Uzbekistan; second, whether the specific achievements of the Astana International Financial Centre in promoting regional financial cooperation can be translated into substantive cross-border investment projects; and finally, the policy direction of Central Asian countries in addressing regional terrorist threats and maintaining border security, which will directly affect long-term foreign investor confidence in the region. As the role of Central Asia in the international supply chain becomes increasingly important, the implementation of relevant policies will be a key indicator for measuring the degree of regional economic integration.