The Irreplaceable Outpost? Whither Hong Kong in China's Financial Future

Can China turn away from using Hong Kong as its main international financial center (IFC)? This article offers a framework with an international political economy (IPE) perspective that draws on pioneering IPE research into China's growing global financial presence and monetary influence, through which an assessment is made of Hong Kong's future as a financial center in relation to the Chinese mainland. Although the social unrest in the city from the mid-2010s onward has prompted Beijing to look for alternative financial hubs in the region, Hong Kong's contributions have been hard to replace, and that will likely remain the case for the foreseeable future. The analysis concludes by outlining two potential future scenarios for Hong Kong.