ENG-2017 — Page 78

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The Economy

transportation, storage, postal and courier services, information and communications (11 per cent) (chart 4).

Chart 4

Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels 34.6%

Employment by Major Service Sector

1997

Transport, storage and

10.8%

communications

2017

Transportation, storage, postal and courier services, information and

Finance, insurance, real estate and business services 12.8%

communications

11.2%

Financing

and insurance, real estate, professional and business services 20.5%

Other sectors 20.2%

Community, social and personal services

Import/export, wholesale and retail trades,

21.6%

accommodation and food services 29.8%

Other

sectors 11.8%

Public administration, social and

personal services 26.7%

Import/export, wholesale and retail trades, accommodation and food services employed the most people in 2017.

Note:

Starting from the first quarter of 2009, industrial classification of employment has adopted the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification Version 2.0 while that in the previous years is based on Version 1.1.

Economic Links between Hong Kong and Mainland

Following several decades of reform and opening up on the Mainland, cross-boundary economic ties are stronger than ever. The flow of goods, services, people and capital between Hong Kong and the Mainland, and between the Mainland and the world through Hong Kong, have flourished and brought about significant mutual benefits to the two places.

With its total trade surging from US$325 billion in 1997 to US$4.1 trillion in 2017, the Mainland plays a prominent role in driving global economic growth. Hong Kong has benefited substantially from the Mainland's phenomenal trade growth. Visible trade between Hong Kong and the Mainland in 2017 was about four times that of 20 years ago, representing growth of 7 per cent per annum in value terms (chart 5). In 2017, the Mainland was ranked the world's largest merchandise trading entity and Hong Kong was ranked seventh.

The Mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner. Cross-boundary trade accounted for more than half of Hong Kong's total trade value in 2017. At the same time, Hong Kong is the Mainland's third largest trading partner after the US and Japan, accounting for about 7 per cent of the Mainland's total trade value. More than half of Hong Kong's exports to the Mainland, which were mainly re-exports, involved raw materials and semi-manufactures,

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