་་
- 6 -
and British Caledonian Airways, together operate 14 scheduled
services per week between Hong Kong and London. Between
April 1981 and March 1982 these two airlines carried a total
of 346,244 passengers and 11,142 tonnes of cargo into or out
of Hong Kong.
The China Dimension
17.
China has openly recognised Hong Kong's important role
in her Four Modernisations Programme. It is a well-known
fact that the Chinese prefer dealing with Hong Kong businessmen
because of the common language and because both sides are
familiar with each other's business practices. The Chinese
realise that they can make full use of Hong Kong's network
of commercial and financial services. They expect Hong Kong
institutions to help organize, and be a source of, finance for
investment in the special economic zones of Guangdong Province
and to facilitate the transfer of technology from advanced
economies to China, particularly in respect of its export-
oriented industries.
18. With the opening up of China, there is obviously much
room for the UK to expand its trade with the country through
Hong Kong. The immense opportunity available to UK exporters
is illustrated by the spectacular growth (38 times) in Hong
Kong's re-exports to China from 1978 to 1981.
19. During the period 1978 to 1981, re-exports of British
goods to China through Hong Kong increased almost 30 times
from £370,000 to £9.5 million. A further 40% growth was recorded in the first seven months of 1982 compared with
the corresponding period of 1981. In 1981, 18% of British
goods re-exported through Hong Kong were destined for China.
Major items of British goods re-exported to China through
Hong Kong are tobacco manufactures (20% in 1981 - £1.9 million),
textiles (10% - £1.0 million), manufactures of base metal
-
(7% £0.7 million), medicinal and pharmaceutical products (6% £0.6 million). Re-exports of raw materials, semi-
manufactures...../-