Hong Kong trade envoy says tea and trust come before contracts in Gulf deals
Hong Kong trade matchmaker Jonathan Lamport shares cultural advice for business with the Middle East: build trust over tea before discussing contracts. He notes Hong Kong's many chambers can confuse newcomers but praises the city's welcoming spirit, which wins over diplomats and visitors alike.
Jonathan Lamport, a Legislative Council member and trade matchmaker for the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce since 2016, has shared his golden rule for doing business with the Middle East and Central Asia: “Our cultures are as alike as dim sum and dates. Both are delightful, but nobody serves them on the same plate.”
In those regions, Lamport said, deals are not struck overnight. “You pour the tea, then another cup, and become a trusted friend. Only then will anyone look at a contract, and even then they will probably suggest dinner first.”
Lamport recalled a newly arrived Gulf consul who was bewildered by the many meeting requests from dozens of “chambers of commerce” in Hong Kong. The consul asked why the city needed so many, noting that in his region there is usually one grand, semiofficial chamber whose word carries real weight.
Hong Kong has more than 400 business associations, Lamport noted. The Trade and Industry Department publishes a directory of them, and five organisations, including the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, are designated by the government to issue Certificates of Origin. “Whichever door a visitor knocks on, the tea is always hot,” he said.
The consul soon adapted, Lamport wrote, becoming a regular in Central and debating the best roast goose in town. “That is Hong Kong's quiet magic. Our open, international, and welcoming spirit wins over every consul general and business visitor.”
Lamport also highlighted the role of honorary consuls—respected local business figures who keep bilateral trade moving. When he led a chamber delegation to the Gulf in 2024, he credited a consul general and an honorary consul based in Hong Kong for opening doors.
Behind them, he said, are generations of Hong Kong business families who built factories, shipping lines, trading houses and friendships “one handshake and one cup of tea at a time.” With the backing of the mainland, Hong Kong has become a springboard for enterprises going global. Lamport's advice to business visitors: “Come thirsty. In Hong Kong, the tea is poured, the deals follow, and the friendships last a lifetime.”