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GROWTH IN POLITICAL AWARENESS WILL EMERGE MORE CLEARLY,
WHAT
WILL BE VISIBLE IS A HONG KONG MORE HIGHLY INTEGRATED WITH CHINA BUT NO LESS INTEGRATED WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD; A HONG KONG WHICH STILL FUNCTIONS AS AN OPEN SOCIETY WITH AN
INDEPENDENT LEGAL SYSTEM AND WHERE CIVIL LIBERTIES CONTINUE TO BE RESPECTED. THAT IS WHAT THE JOINT DECLARATION INTENDS AND
THAT IS WHAT THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG EXPECT.
U.S.-HONG KONG RELATIONS
THE U.S. HAS SIGNIFICANT INTERESTS IN HONG KONG WHICH
WARRANT CONCERN FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE 1997 TRANSITION TO CHINESE RULE. OUR CLOSE ATTENTION IS IN KEEPING WITH THE
ADMIRATION AND RESPECT WHICH HONG KONG'S RESIDENTS HAVE WON
OVER THE YEARS BY CREATING ONE OF THE MOST VIBRANT AND
PRODUCTIVE SOCIETIES ON EARTH.
OUR ECONOMIC STAKE IN HONG KONG'S FUTURE IS SUBSTANTIAL. THE U.S. HAS MORE THAN $7 BILLION IN INVESTMENTS IN HONG KONG. OVER 900 U.S. FIRMS HAVE OFFICES AND OVER 21,000 AMERICANS
THE U.S. IS HONG KONG'S LARGEST MARKET. HONG RESIDE THERE.
IN 1991, U.S. KONG IS OUR FOURTEENTH LARGEST TRADING PARTNER. EXPORTS TO HONG KONG AMOUNTED TO $8.1 BILLION AND U.S. IMPORTS WERE WORTH $9.3 BILLION. PUT ANOTHER WAY, EACH HONG KONG RESIDENT BOUGHT A STAGGERING $1300 WORTH OF U.S. PRODUCTS LAST
YEAR. AMERICAN BUSINESS HAS A GREAT DEAL TO CONTRIBUTE TO HONG
KONG'S FUTURE. U.S. COMPANIES ARE COMPETING FOR CONTRACTS IN
THE PROJECT TO DEVELOP THE NEW AIRPORT AND CONTAINER FACILITIES