Answer:
Hong Kong acted as a financial center that connected China and the rest of the world.
Step-by-step explanation:
China imposed a strict government control over all aspect of its economy. This made a lot of companies from outside China felt reluctant to be involved in business with them.
In such cases, Hong kong can act as some sort of intermediary between the two.
Unlike China, Hong Kong is run with a free market system. This made a lot of business entities/investors all across the world feel more comfortable. So they can finish their financial transaction through hong kong and use it as a medium to transfer their goods in or out of China.