CONFIDENTIAL
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16. Trade with China has dropped off appreciably partly as a result of China's internal troubles which has affected trade in food but particularly because Chinese exports are often deliberately help up or re-routed to maintain the fiction that Communist action is crippling the working of the port. The Communists have made a particularly strong effort in the sphere of shipping. Considerable pressures have been applied to the Chinese crews
of British ships which call at Chinese ports and some vessels have had to
sail with men short.
17. Total bank deposits at the end of June were 15% below the total at the
Chinese end of December. But a lot of this reflects a typical preference to hold their money in time of crisis and comparatively little of this is believed
to have left the Colony. There has been some reduction in the inflow
of capital from abroad especially from South East Asia.
b... Carte
Hong Kong Department,
6th September, 1967.
CONFIDENTIAL