On his first trip outside Beijing after becoming general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in late 2012, Xi Jinping laid flowers before a statue of late leader Deng Xiaoping on a hillside in Shenzhen, which neighbors Hong Kong.

Coming down the hill, a journalist from Hong Kong asked Xi, "General Secretary, do you have anything to say to your Hong Kong compatriots?"

Xi's answer was short but powerful, "Hong Kong will prosper."

Five years on, Xi's confidence has been translated into solid reality.

Two decades after Hong Kong was handed back to China under the "one country, two systems" formula, the region is doing better than ever.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the newly appointed chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), in Beijing, capital of China, April 11, 2017. [File photo/Xinhua]

Despite various prophets of doom, the Special Administrative Region (SAR) has remained a center of international finance, shipping and trade, and has been recognized as one of the world's freest and most competitive economies.

Strong support from central gov't

Aside from a business-friendly environment that encourages openness and productivity, the modern metropolis of over seven million people owes much of its economic success to closer links with the mainland.

Since 1997, the central government has made every effort to ensure Hong Kong's stability and prosperity as a special administrative region.

Basic necessities, including about 95 percent of live swine, 100 percent of live cattle, 90 percent of vegetables and 70 percent of flour on the Hong Kong market are supplied by the mainland.

The Guangdong-based Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant provides a quarter of Hong Kong's annual electricity consumption, and some 70 to 80 percent of Hong Kong's fresh water comes from the mainland.

The central government also rendered timely and strong support to Hong Kong during the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the international financial crisis in 2008 and the SARS outbreak.

Hong Kong has been the largest source of overseas investment for the mainland, which has approved nearly 400,000 projects from Hong Kong investors worth over 900 billion U.S. dollars. Hong Kong is also the largest recipient of the mainland's overseas investment and its largest overseas financing platform.

"Hong Kong understands that its future and the mainland's are symbiotic and intertwined," 88-year-old Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"'One country, two systems' epitomizes the creativity and the flexibility of Chinese leaders," Li said, adding that Xi's unwavering commitment to the principle is "strong and comforting."

Firm commitment

Indeed, on many occasions Xi has reaffirmed the principle of "one country, two systems."

"Twenty years of practice shows 'one country, two systems' is not only the best solution to the Hong Kong question left over from history, but also the best institutional arrangement for its long-term prosperity and stability since its return," Xi said on Monday this week when visiting an exhibition in Beijing profiling Hong Kong's achievements over the past two decades.

"We will continue to comprehensively and precisely implement the 'one country, two systems' principle, handle affairs strictly in line with the Constitution and the Basic Law of the HKSAR, and further promote the overall development of Hong Kong," Xi said.

The top Chinese leader's commitment to "one country, two systems" has been firm and consistent.

In his first meeting with Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in December 2012 after taking the helm of the CPC, Xi promised "unchanged support" for the chief executives and governments of Hong Kong and Macao SARs in carrying out their legal duties.

The central government's adherence to the "one country, two systems" principle and the basic laws of the two SARs will not change, he said.