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Innovation and Technology

The Mainland has been opening up its market to Hong Kong's testing and certification sector through the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). The amended Agreement on Trade in Services under CEPA took effect on 1 June, enabling Hong Kong testing organisations to collaborate with designated Mainland bodies and test products. processed or manufactured anywhere in the world requiring China Compulsory Certification.

Hong Kong Accreditation Service

The accreditation service operates according to international standards and is active in international and regional accreditation communities. It has mutual recognition arrangements with accreditation bodies in 104 economies, allowing the results of tests, calibrations, certifications, inspections, validations and verifications provided by its accredited organisations to be recognised globally, thus facilitating cross-border business.

Standards and Calibration Laboratory

The laboratory is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (HKSAR) official custodian of physical measurement reference standards and provides a calibration service traceable to the International System of Units. It represents the HKSAR as a signatory to the Mutual Recognition Arrangement of the International Committee for Weights and Measures, and its calibration certificates are recognised internationally.

Product Standards Information Bureau

The bureau sells standards documents and offers free technical advice on standards-related matters. It also represents the HKSAR in major forums relating to standards and conformance issues and acts as Hong Kong, China's Enquiry and Notification Point under the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.

Innovation and Technology Development

The government promotes I&T development in eight major areas: increasing resources for R&D, pooling technology talent, providing funding investments, providing technological research infrastructure, reviewing legislation and regulations, opening up government data, leading changes to procurement arrangements, and promoting popular science education.

The government's Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology, chaired by the Chief Executive and with most principal officials as members, examines and steers measures in these eight areas, as well as initiatives under the smart city blueprint.

Hong Kong's I&T development has been internationally recognised. In the International Institute for Management Development's World Competitiveness Ranking 2020, Hong Kong rose from 18th to seventh and from 11th to fifth in terms of technological infrastructure and digital competitiveness respectively. In the Digital Intelligence Index report jointly published by Mastercard and Tufts University in 2020, Hong Kong was recognised as one of the most advanced digital economies worldwide, ranking second and third in the Asia Pacific region and the world respectively.

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