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INFO ROUTINE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
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MEETING WITH MAYOR ZHAO BAOJIANG OF WUHAN: 27 AUGUST
1. THE MAYOR OF WUHAN CALLED ON ME ON 27 AUGUST. WE HAD A
FRIENDLY DISCUSSION FOCUSING ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE
MUNICIPALITY IN GENERAL AND THE 'HONG KONG PLUS PLUS' PROJECT IN
PARTICULAR.
2. ZHAO WAS IN HONG KONG TO SIGN LETTERS OF INTENT WITH WHARF
(HOLDINGS) LIMITED RELATING THE THE 'HONG KONG PLUS PLUS'
PROJECT. THIS INVOLVED AN AMBITIOUS PROGRAMME OF INFRASTRUCTURAL
DEVELOPMENT TO TURN WUHAN INTO A DISTRIBUTION BUD FOR CENTRAL CHINA. A CONTAINERISATION CENTRE AND A 1,200 KILOMETRE FREIGHT LINE FROM WUHAN TO KOWLOON WOULD BE BUILT. MANUFACTURERS WOULD BE
ABLE TO LOAD CONTAINERS AND CLEAR CUSTOMS IN WUHAN BEFORE SENDING
GOODS DIRECT TO HONG KONG.
3. CLEARLY EXCITED BY THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PROJECT, ZHAO STRESSED THAT IT WOULD BRING BENEFITS TO BOTH WUHAN AND HONG
KONG. THE TWO PLACES ALREADY HAD CLOSE ECONOMIC LINKS: 60 PERCENT OF WUHAN'S USD400 MILLION WORTH OF ANNUAL EXPORTS PASSED THROUGH
HONG KONG: MOST OF WUHAN'S 300 JOINT VENTURES INVOLVED HONG KONG INTERESTS: AND EACH YEAR MANY PEOPLE CAME TO HONG KONG TO DO BUSINESS AND TO STUDY THE FREE MARKET ECONOMY. THIS PROJECT WOULD ENHANCE THESE LINKS.
4. ZHAO TOLD ME THAT WUHAN WAS ONE OF THE FIRST CITIES TO OPEN UP TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD IN 1858. SUN YATSUN HAD DESCRIBED IT AS 'THE CHICAGO OF THE ORIENT'. WUHAN WAS ALSO THE CRADLE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN CHINA. INDEED, IT REMAINED A MAJOR CENTRE FOR HEAVY INDUSTRY. ITS STRATEGIC POSITION, WITH PEKING TO THE NORTH, CANTON TO THE SOUTH AND THE YANGTZE RIVER PROVIDING AN EAST TO WEST AXIS, HAD FUELLED ITS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY, WUHAN WAS THE THIRD MOST HIGHLY DEVELOPED CITY IN CHINA. THE EXTENSION TO WUHAN THIS YEAR OF THE ECONOMIC POLICIES PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE ONLY TO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES AND COASTAL AREAS, WOULD FURTHER BOOST WUHAN'S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE.
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