The leaders of some of the world's biggest financial companies firmly believe "resiliency and wisdom" hold the key to a global economy facing geopolitical tensions, financial market jitters and uncertainty about the coming transition in Washington.

Market participants should handle the challenges coming from all directions step by step while keeping faith that the issues can be resolved, they said at the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday. The event, organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, is in its third year and this year's theme is "Sailing through changes."

"We're seeing everyone recognise we've got to build up resiliency," said Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup. "It's easy to say globalisation is dead. It's not. It's just changing tremendously."

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BNP Paribas chairman Jean Lemierre said trade is a matter of negotiation. "The end result will be an agreement because otherwise it would be terrible for each of us."

Lemierre said that wisdom should lead to solutions for trade tensions, which is all about "tariff, quota, reciprocity and timing".

"We know the parameters of the discussion, so wisdom should lead to this type of approach," he said.

The speakers' comments came after Donald Trump's win in the US presidential election. His early cabinet appointments have included a number of people who are known China hawks.

Adding to the uncertainty, Trump could impose more tariffs on Chinese goods and start another trade war. If he sticks to what he said on the campaign trail, he could impose 60 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, in addition to a 10 per cent blanket tariff on all imports.

Financial markets are also in flux, as they face falling interest rates after the US Federal Reserve kicked off the rate-lowering cycle in September. The S&P 500 Index has risen as much as 7 per cent since the Fed made its first move, while the Hang Seng Index had surged as much as 27 per cent since late September only to give up most of its gains.

Monetary policy is "divergent" for various markets. "What kind of effect that would have on the [global] economy and financial markets is something we have to see," said Kanetsugu Mike, chairman of Mitsubishi-UFJ Financial Group.