CONFIDENTIAL
DRAFT
MEMORANDUM
HONG KONG AND THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE (GAT)
The Joint Declaration of the United Kingdom and China, 1984
Flag A
1. The Joint Declaration of the Governments of the United
Kingdom and China of 19 December 1984 (which is a binding
international agreement) made provision for the reversion of
Hong Kong to China in 1997. The Declaration rehearses
China's intended policies regarding Hong Kong which include
the establishment of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative
Region (the Hong Kong SAR) with its own special "Basic Law"
which will provide for the continuance of the laws of Hong
Kong "basically unchanged", the continuance unchanged of
the "current social and economic systems in Hong Kong" and
its "life style" and an administration composed of local
inhabitants. Taking into account "the history of Hong Kong
and its realities", China intends that the Hong Kong SAR
"will enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and
defence affairs", that it will retain the status of "a
separate customs territory", and that it may maintain
economic relations and conclude relevant agreements with
states, regions and relevant international organisations
(see Article 3).
2. The intentions in Article 3 of the Joint Declaration
are further elaborated in Annex I to the Declaration.
Economic and trading systems are dealt with in Section VI
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