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CONFIDENTIAL
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C.W. Roberts, Esq., CRE 4.
Department of Trade, Victoria Street.
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HKK 121/548/3-
3 December, 1976.
JOINT STUDY ON BRITISH EXPORTS TO HONG KONG
On 26 November I wrote to you summarising the outcome of my first meeting with the Hong Kong Government, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Jimmy McGregor of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. I now enclose a copy of the official record of the meeting. I have made some manuscript amendments which I will raise at the next meeting. They are of no great significance, other than the suggestion that I should approach the CBI to open a full-time office here. This I did not agree to as there would be no point in pursuing it; the CBI has progressively withdrawn its full-time overseas representatives over the years.
2.
John Browne, who has been on a visit to Hong Kong, has been to see Jeaffreson, David Jordan, McGregor and Dunning and is impressed with the effort they are putting into this exercise. He is concerned that there should be some reciprocal action at the UK end if we are to retain their co-operation and enthusiasm, He points to the fact that Hong Kong's 4.5 million people buy more from us than the whole of China; that it is our second largest market in the Far East; that it is our largest per capita market in this part of the world; that it is not a market which has any artificial barriers to an expansion of our exports; and yet there is no one person in the machine in London who works full-time on Hong Kong, as he believes there should be. He contrasts this with the six people employed by the Sine British Trade Council exclusively on exports to China and the Export to Japan Unit set up within BOTB. He will wish to talk to you about this when he gets back.
CONFIDENTIAL
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