SWIRE Pacific and Cathay Pacific chairman John Slosar told an Atlanta audience that Hong Kong is doing well since the Handover, and that its best days are still ahead.

"China can amaze with its flexibility when it gets its mind around it," Mr Slosar said. "You can't expect the system to give you the answer before you've even been part of it." 

Speaking to a National Association of Chinese Americans at the City Club of Buckhead in Atlanta, he said: "Spirited debate over real issues is well and good," but he said it should focus practical problems not "idealistic obstructionism. It's a done deal. Hong Kong is part of China."

Mr Slosar said Swire Pacific fortunes have tracked Hong Kong's rise, with revenues reaching US$8 billion in 2016, reported Global Atlanta, a Georgia business portal. 

Its holdings include Coca-Cola bottling operations on the mainland, as well as property, marine services and aviation assets. The company owns a 45 per cent of Cathay Pacific.

Mr Slosar is also a director of Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), the now London-based bank, among many other board positions within the Swire Group and beyond.

Speaking to a National Association of Chinese Americans at the City Club of Buckhead in Atlanta, he said that 12 years after the handover, the local stock market unexpectedly became the top IPO generator in the world. 

Mr Slosar said Hong Kong had become a key trading hub for offshore renminbi as China has sought to assert its financial clout internationally. 

Hong Kong remains the world's biggest air cargo hub and its freest economy as rated by the Heritage Foundation, he said.

"Is there a reason to say that Hong Kong's best days are in front of it? I think there is a great reason to say so," Mr Slosar said.

But some say the political price has been too high, that China has eroded freedom of expression and exerted too much influence on Hong Kong elections, which has led to the Occupy Central protests the "Umbrella Revolution" that shut down parts of the city in 2014.

Mr Slosar said political issues "will evolve over time. For those who have used a pro-democracy platform to obstruct progress, a reality check is in order," he said.