【正确答案】 Hong Kong, a tiny island perched on the tip of Southern China, plays a pivotal role in an increasingly globalized economy. Given its strategic location, internationally oriented business culture and excellent communications, it has become a crossroad of world trade and the nerve center of the Asia-Pacific region. Commercial links reach out to corporations in over 170 countries and regions. Its trade with the rest of Asia has increased substantially. Its container port is now the busiest, and is undergoing further expansion. Although Hong Kong' s emergence as a world financial center came in recent 20 years, offshore loans account for more than half of the total loan provided by its banks. As the"Pearl of the Orient"returns once again to China' s palm, its people see later future as brighter than ever.