My latest column: In 1993, Donald Trump visited Hong Kong with the intention of building a Trump Tower in Central but the plan fell through. Time for Hong Kong to make US president’s dream a reality

Republished from today's SCMP

In August 1993, Donald Trump visited Hong Kong with the intention of building a Trump Tower in Central. “I’m a New York boy, born and bred, and there’s only one other city in the world that impresses me – Hong Kong,” Trump enthused in an interview with this paper, accompanied by his then-girlfriend Marla Maples, who was seven months pregnant with their daughter Tiffany Trump at the time.

Trump was reportedly in discussions with several of the city’s leading property developers. However, the plan fell through due to financial and other reasons. Now, 32 years later, it is a good time for Hong Kong to revisit this idea and help Trump realise his unfulfilled dream of building a Trump Tower in the city.

A young academic floated this idea at a recent dinner event, which elicited some snickers from those at the table. However, the suggestion struck a chord with me.

I can imagine many readers rolling their eyes and sniggering at this notion as well. But if we think deeply about it, the suggestion exemplifies the kind of out-of-the-box thinking our city desperately needs to survive and thrive in this age of uncertainty, squeezed by the rising rivalry between the United States and China.

Conventional wisdom will be against the idea. The circumstances have changed significantly since 1993. Trump, who launched a trade war against China during his first term, has returned to the White House and packed his cabinet with China hawks. Many analysts now expect the confrontation between the world’s two largest economies to intensify in the coming years.

Hong Kong has also undergone significant changes since Trump’s visit. Its status as Asia’s premier financial centre is under siege amid rising concerns about the city’s direction following the 2019 protests and the subsequent imposition of the national security law in 2020.

So the obvious question is: why would Trump even consider building a tower bearing his name in the city? My answer is: why not?

First, Hong Kong tycoons can appeal to Trump’s transactional nature as they have first-hand experience working with him on property deals. Trump Tower Hong Kong did not materialise in 1993, but Trump flew into Hong Kong again in 1994 and met Henry Cheng Kar-shun, then managing director of New World Development, among others.

In the same year, a consortium backed by Cheng’s New World Development and the Shui On group, headed by Vincent Lo Hong-sui, agreed to provide financing for Trump to proceed with his controversial Riverside South projects in Manhattan. The Hong Kong investors reportedly parted ways with Trump in 2005 after they and Trump sold the remaining unfinished portions to the Carlyle Group and the Extell Development Company.

Now, Hong Kong’s property market is experiencing a rough patch, particularly for debt-laden New World Development. As the city’s property tycoons own much of the prime land, they can surely work together to offer a deal the Trump family would find difficult to resist.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, US-China relations could be heading for a period of detente, although how long that will last is anyone’s guess. Since Trump came to office, both Beijing and Washington have tried not to antagonise each other further. In the run-up to Trump’s inauguration and in the ensuing weeks, Chinese state media have talked up the prospects of win-win benefits for both countries and for the world.

In an unusual move, President Xi Jinping sent Vice-President Han Zheng to attend Trump’s inauguration ceremony before having a phone call with the new US president. Two days before the Lunar New Year, state media headlined a greeting card Xi sent to “his friends in the US state of Iowa”, in which Xi called for efforts by both governments to achieve mutual success and common prosperity. Xi first visited Iowa in 1985.

In another unusual move, American rock band OneRepublic made a rare appearance on China’s Lunar New Year gala on Tuesday night – the country’s most-watched television programme.

Before that, Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which Wang said Beijing and Washington should find the right way to get along in the new era. The phone call came despite the fact that China has twice sanctioned Rubio in the past few years.

Much has been written about China hawks in Trump’s cabinet, which could make the US president the most pragmatic and reasonable person on China. One day after taking office, Trump said 10 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imports could kick in on February 1. Two days later, he told Fox News that he would “rather not” impose tariffs on China, indicating his willingness to make a deal.

Given Trump’s impulsive nature, it is difficult to be certain what he means or what he really wants. However, the tentative signs point to a better-than-expected start in bilateral relations for the Year of the Snake.

Hong Kong can still play a unique role by leveraging its “one country, two systems” formula. But, first, it must do a better job of countering the widespread perception that it is heading towards “one country, one system”.

Hong Kong tycoon Michael Kadoorie is reportedly spearheading a campaign to raise US$50 million to promote Hong Kong through a worldwide public relations campaign, aiming to tell the world the city “is safe and a good place to do business”. There is hardly a better idea than putting together a deal to erect a Trump Tower in the city to reinforce that message.

Wang Xiangwei is a former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post. He now teaches journalism at Baptist University