Hong Kong’s finance chief will attend the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington for the first time since 2019, despite a dramatic re-escalation of trade tensions between the United States and China.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday that in addition to the two meetings, which he will attend as part of China’s delegation, he would join other events to promote the city’s strengths and development efforts while also addressing “topics of concern”.

In a weekly blog entry called “Strengthening ties with traditional markets”, Chan said: “The global economic and market outlook is always shrouded in uncertainty.

“Faced with the lingering international geopolitical and economic haze, we always believe that communication, dialogue and frank exchanges will help eliminate misunderstandings, enhance mutual understanding and even build mutual trust.”

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings will run from Monday to Saturday and mark the first time Chan has travelled to Washington for the events since 2019.

The meetings were held virtually in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while Chan did not attend the subsequent in-person events hosted in Washington in 2021, 2022 and 2024.