A view of Hong Kong. Photo: VCG

An attempt to push for "Made in Hong Kong" can be a way to carve out hope for a city whose economy has been battered by months-long protests. But the manufacturing overhaul can't come at the cost of delinking Hong Kong from the mainland. Nor can Hong Kong survive without support from the mainland.

Some local manufacturers are relocating back from the Chinese mainland amid the ongoing trade war to avoid US tariffs, as reported by the South China Morning Post on Thursday. 

With re-exports accounting for most of the city's exports, such a relocation seems indicative of its bourgeoning push for "Made in Hong Kong" to adapt to a changing global supply chain. The push itself will serve as a boon to the local economy, which is grappling with a double whammy of social turbulence and US-China trade tensions. 

But under no circumstances will it point to a shortcut to prosperity that simply rests on local manufacturers phasing out their mainland operations. 

For one thing, the city's economy, now entering a technical recession, is increasingly vulnerable to varied uncertainties. This suggests any attempts to delink Hong Kong from the mainland risk sinking the city into deeper woes.

For another, the nation's efforts to pin growth hopes on a consumption upgrade ought to free the city's business community from the walls of narrow-mindedness. "Made in Hong Kong" could realistically turn the city into a regional hub for high-end manufacturing so as to fit into the national manufacturing upgrade. 

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn