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We had a glimpse of just how eagerly Chinese in the Pearl River Delta are pursuing these legal riches. They have been helped by the proximity of Hong Kong, for the remarkable growth taking place in the region owes much to its ready access to the best port, the most skilled entrepreneurs and workers, the most sophisticated financial market, and the highest technology on the China coast. What I am getting at is that even though the political act of reincorporating Hong Kong into China is still eleven years away, the economic integration of the territory and China has already begun in earnest.
In the past five years, China has grown from being Hong Kong's eighth largest market to its second largest.
Hong Kong is the principal transit point for rapidly growing trade between China and Taiwan, South Korea, and Indonesia.
As the world's third largest banking center, Hong Kong has been the key to unlocking sources of capital for China.
Hong Kong investors are the single most important source of outside investment in China. Perhaps 80 percent of China's foreign investment comes from Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is a prime training ground for Chinese businessmen to learn modern management methods.
These long-term economic trends -driven by the commercial self-interest of thousands of individuals and enterprises on both sides will prove to be one of the more profound and positive determinants of the post 1997 scene. As a case in point, I'm sure that many here remain worried about misguided and resentful Guangdong cadres sticking an unhelpful oar into Hong Kong in the years leading up to and after 1997. But, to coin a favored PRC phrase, objective conditions have changed. In the past few years, the lives of these cadres and the people they govern have changed enormously for the better thanks to the growing economic links between their communities and Hong Kong. From being indifferent or callous to the fate of the Territory, these cadres now have a vested interest in seeing things go well here.
Thus while it is essential that Hong Kong enjoys the promised high degree of autonomy following 1997, we should also realize that the Territory's continued prosperity will be further assured by its forging ever-closer trade and investment links with China. Many businessmen in this town both foreign and local -- have grasped this emerging reality and are mapping their company's strategy accordingly. Hong Kong can no longer be viewed as simply an attractive place to set up export-oriented light industry, or service facilities, though these will continue to be a major facet of the Territory's economy. An increasingly important feature, however, will be Hong Kong as part of the Chinese economy trader, entrepot, conveyer of capital and technology.
Hong Kong's businessmen rightfully enjoy a reputation for being fast off the mark. It is not surprising that in recent years they have been exploiting new opportunities in China. Some have done well, others not so well. One impression gained from the Pearl River Delta visit is that its native sons now living in Hong Kong have taken advantage of cultural and kinship ties to make profitable investment arrangements in the region. But China's foreign investment needs are too great to rely on the lubricant of personal ties. The fulfillment of these needs must depend on unambiguous and consistent policies and practices which provide the potential investor a benchmark against which he can judge the profitability of a proposed venture. On this score China has a way to go before it can take full advantage of the capital and know-how available here and elsewhere. As China
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