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MR REES' MEETING WITH THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY AND TRADE,
15 NOVEMBER 1982
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Encouragement of Hong Kong Government and its Departments to buy British
Of course our export effort in Hong Kong is directed across
the board and our Trade Commission has excellent relations
with the Hong Kong Government. At the same time the British
Government must operate consistently with the status of Hong
Kong as a territory which has economic autonomy. It would be
quite wrong to order Hong Kong to buy British. The Hong Kong
Government has an obligation to account to the Legislative
Council for its actions and to show that these are in the
interest of the territory. But we do make every effort to
ensure that the advantages of British goods and Baitish
expertise are thoroughly understood in Hong Kong and the record
shows that we have been pretty successful.
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