IndexHistory of Hong KongPolitical system of Hong KongEconomic partnershipsCEPA - Closer Economic Partnership Agreement.FTA - Free Trade AgreementsDTA - Double Taxation AgreementsAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)Council of Pacific Economic Cooperation (PECC)United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)World Trade Organization (WTO)Economic SituationHistory of Hong KongThe history of Hong Kong is very interesting and unique. However, due to the limited scope of this document, only a brief overview will be provided. From 1842 to 1997, Hong Kong was a British colony. First, Britain gained control over Hong Kong Island after the First Opium War (1839-1842). After the Second Opium War (1856-1860), the Kowloon Peninsula was also annexed to British territory. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay In 1898, the new territories were added under a 99-year lease that ended in 1997, when Britain had to cede Hong Kong to China. During that period, Britain briefly lost control over Hong Kong when it was occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Before the handover to China in 1997, Britain introduced a Bill of Rights that forced China to accept a "Un country - two systems". for another 50 years. The main purpose of this was so that Hong Kong could maintain its capitalist economic and political system. Furthermore, Hong Kong did not have to pay taxes or duties to China, meaning that it had more money available to invest within Hong Kong (The Daily Conversation 2017).Political System of Hong KongThe political system is based on the "Basic Law" , which is the constitution of Hong Kong. The Chief Executive is the head of Hong Kong and the position is currently held by Carry Lam, elected in 2017. The Chief Executive is elected by an election committee and then the Executive Board is appointed by the Chief Executive. The purpose of the executive council is to advise the chief executive on government matters. To approve or amend laws, the chief executive also needs the approval of the legislative council, which is elected by the people every 4 years. The seats within the legislative council are divided into two parts. Half of the seats are elected by region, and the number of seats is determined based on the size of the region. The other half are functional seats, elected based on 28 functions that are in some way related to Hong Kong's economy, such as transportation or construction. However, not all workers in these sectors can vote for their respective functional location. Instead, many functional seats are elected primarily by corporations which gives them more decisive power. There are five additional seats which are elected by all those who do not work in the branches represented by the other functional seats (GovHK 1). The number of votes is not equally represented by the number of seats in the legislative council, which leads to an inequality of votes. distribution of power within government (Pickett 2016). This results from a complicated set of rules and regulations that will not be explained further due to the limited scope of this document. It should be noted at this point that despite being a special administrative region, China influences Hong Kong's political system by suggesting suitable candidates for the position of CEO. Only candidates approved in Beijing will be eligible to be elected by the election committee. This lack of independence, along with various rules regarding the distribution of power within government, are seen incritically by people and have been the cause of numerous demonstrations (The guardian 2017). Another strong political link with mainland China concerns the defense forces. The Hong Kong government does not have a defense department, because military matters are handled by China (GovHK1). Economic Partnerships Hong Kong has various economic partnerships that support their good international relations and show their willingness to facilitate trade with different countries. The most important partnership agreements are presented below.CEPA - Closer Economic Partnership Agreement.CEPA is an agreement between China and Hong Kong that regulates Hong Kong's preferential access to mainland Chinese markets for residents, products and companies . It was signed in 2003, but many other agreements have been added since then to address specific issues, such as investment regulation. The objective of this agreement is to strengthen trade and investment cooperation between China and Hong Kong, while supporting joint development. To this end, tariffs and other non-tariff barriers are eliminated on nearly all trade in goods. Furthermore, efforts are made to eliminate discriminatory measures and generally to facilitate mutual trade and investment. This agreement is particularly significant because Hong Kong accounts for 8.3% of China's total trade in 2016, making it mainland China's second-largest trading partner after the United States (Department 2 of Trade and Industry). Free Trade Agreements - Free Trade Agreements Hong Kong has signed a variety of free trade agreements which make it very attractive for international trade. So far, free trade agreements have been concluded with the European Free Trade Association, New Zealand, Chile and since November 2017 also the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN). Furthermore, negotiations are already underway to enter into agreements with even more countries (Department 3 of Trade and Industry). DTAs - Double Tax Agreements Double tax agreements are entered into to avoid income being taxed, both in the country of origin and in the country where the profit is made, provided that these differ from each other. So far, Hong Kong has entered into DTAs with 30 jurisdictions and is currently negotiating with 15 more. (Bundesfinanzministerium) Hong Kong thus increases its attractiveness for foreign investors because they can be sure of paying taxes only once on their income earned in Hong Kong. In addition to the agreements mentioned above, Hong Kong is also a member of the following cooperations and organizations: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) APEC is a cooperation between 21 Pacific member economies, promoting free trade within the Asia-Pacific region Pacific (Trade and Department of Industry 1) Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) The PECC is a network of committees composed of institutions and individuals dedicated to promoting cooperation in the Asia Pacific (PECC) region. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) UNCTAD is the principal body of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment and development issues. It is also the United Nations focal point for the least developed countries" (UNCTAD). World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO is an organization of cooperating international governments, which regulates international trade. Hong Kong is not only a member , but is among the founding states of the WTO (WTO). As mentioned above, the large number of agreements and participations within various organizations demonstrates how good Hong's international relations are3).