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Commerce and Industry
Overseas Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices
There are 12 overseas Hong Kong ETOS located in Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Jakarta, London, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington. The Geneva office represents 'Hong Kong, China' as a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and as a participant to the Trade Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) headquartered in Paris. The other ETOS promote Hong Kong's economic and trade interests by enhancing understanding of Hong Kong among opinion-formers; monitoring developments that may affect Hong Kong's economic and trade interests; and liaising with government bodies, politicians, businesses, think tanks and the media. They organise events regularly to promote Hong Kong's image, and those with investment promotion units also offer support to individual enterprises interested in setting up or expanding their presence in Hong Kong.
The Brussels ETO represents Hong Kong's overall economic and trade interests in Europe, particularly in dealings with the European Union, including the European Commission and European Parliament. It also promotes Hong Kong's bilateral relations with 15 European countries. The London ETO represents Hong Kong's interests and promotes bilateral relations in nine countries, and is also the base of Hong Kong's representative to the International Maritime Organisation. The Berlin ETO fosters economic and trade ties between Hong Kong and eight countries in central and eastern Europe.
The Washington ETO represents Hong Kong's economic and trade interests in the US, monitors developments that may affect Hong Kong's interests and promotes Hong Kong's bilateral relations with the US. The New York and San Francisco ETOS promote Hong Kong's economic and trade interests in 31 eastern states and 19 western states of the US respectively.
The offices in Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto are responsible for bilateral economic and trade relations in their host countries. In addition, the Sydney ETO covers New Zealand and the Tokyo ETO covers Korea. The Jakarta ETO represents the HKSAR Government in matters between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a whole, and in particular matters with Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and the Philippines, while the Singapore ETO is responsible for strengthening economic ties with Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Promotional activities organised by the Hong Kong ETOS are set out in the 'Promoting Hong Kong Worldwide' section of Chapter 17 Media and Communications.
To consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status in the international trade market and to explore new business opportunities, preparations are under way to set up new ETOS, including one in Bangkok, Thailand, to be opened in early 2019.
External Commercial Relations
Participation in World Trade Organisation
The rule-based multilateral trading system under the auspices of the WTO is the cornerstone of Hong Kong's external trade policy. Hong Kong is a founding member of the WTO and has
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