Hong Kong became a world city under British rule. Yet; its change of sovereignty has meant certain disadvantages for Hong Kong; the territory's one-country two-systems policy denies Hong Kong full incorporation into China; and the financial crisis of 1998 and the SARS epidemic of 2003 were disastrous for Hong Kong's world city image. In the last decade; economic performance in Hong Kong has deteriorated with the Mainland factor crucial for economic recovery. This has further mainland-ized Hong Kong at the expense of internationalization. Despite its competitor's moves for regional and bilateral free trade agreements and the Mainland's shift in free trade policy; Hong Kong has yet to negotiate or build on its pre-1997 image. Hong Kong must seize its opportunities and deal effectively with the Chinese and US global systems that envelop it.