economic and financial entity, organisationally separate
from China.
- Joint Declaration is a binding international agreement,
registered at UN. PRC has never broken such an
international agreement. Indeed Chinese leadership have reiterated their commitment to Joint Declaration and concept
of "one country, two systems".
- Firmest guarantee of any agreement is that it is based on
common interest. China has massive and growing economic and
political stake in Hong Kong's continuing success. Hong
Kong provides one third of its foreign exchange earnings and
two thirds of its foreign investment.
It is China's largest
trading partner and its gateway to whole international trading system.
Since Joint Declaration came into force in May 1985, we
have succeeded in further bolstering Hong Kong's financial
and economic automony through the work of Sino-British Joint
Liaison Group which was set up to discuss the detailed and practical arrangements necessary for a smooth transfer of government in 1997. For example in JLG we have secured
Chinese agreement that Hong Kong should become a separate contracting party to the GATT and should continue to participate in a large number of international
organisations.
Work of JLG inevitably disrupted by events of June 1989
in China. But at recent JLG meetings, we have been working
hard to restore a better working relationship with China over Hong Kong. Francis Maude's visit to Peking in July was also an important step in that process. Generated a more constructive atmosphere in which to manage and resolve
problems between us.
NEWAAL/2