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and are used to consuming Chinese products. Fourth,
largely as a consequence of the adoption of the new
economic policy known as the Four Modernizations in
1978, the People's Republic of China has become more
outward looking than any time in its history (since
1949) and has been taking active steps to promote
foreign trade. It is against the background of such
a development that Hong Kong has again re-emerged as an important entrepot for the China trade. Hence the rapid growth in the value of imports from China can
be partly attributed to the very rapid growth in the
value of Chinese goods re-exported through Hong Kong;
in 1978-82, the value of such entrepot trade
accounted for about 41% of the value of Hong Kong's
total imports from China in the same period. Fifth,
the growth of compensation trade between Hong Kong
and China has led to more imports of finished goods
and semi-manufactured products from China (details to
be discussed in Part VI).
8.
(b) Invisible trade surplus
No comprehensive account of invisible trade between Hong Kong and China exists though, based on
information derived from various surveys conducted by
Census and Statistics Department, the value of some
items can be ascertained.
9.
Towards the end of the 1970s, China began to
realise the importance of tourism for generating foreign exchange and employment and serious efforts were devoted to the development of tourism in China. According to estimates put forward by Census and
Statistics Department, per capita expenditure by Hong
Kong residents in China (including passenger fares)
in 1982 was HK$770 (US$127), and thus the total
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