14-JUL-1993 16:28
JAMES LEE
0494536249
P.03
TRANSCRIPT B MR. ALASTAIR GOODLAD FOREIGN AFFAIRS SELECT
14 JULY 1993
COMMITTEE
-
CHAIRMAN:
2
Thank you very much, Minister.
There are many questions,
including that one, which we will want to pursue later on in our inquiry, particularly when we talk to the Governor both in Hong Kong and in November also here at Westminster but I think we should turn now to Chinese issues and I will ask Mr.
open the questioning on this sector.
Sumberg to
MR. DAVID SUMBERG:
Minister, as you know, this inquiry is concerned not solely with Hong Kong but with our relationship with the People's Republic and perhaps initially you could set the matter in context as to how important our relationship with China is compared with other countries in the region, for example Taiwan, and how great an obstacle you feel are the problems of Hong Kong and the negotiations over Hong Kong to our developing a closer
relationship with the PRC.
MR. ALASTAIR GOODLAD:
Perhaps I could say that generally China is very important to the United Kingdom and getting more so. It has a quarter of the world's population, it is an expanding economy, it is a member of the Security Council, it is a very important country.
Hong Kong is a major responsibility of ours and is a major part of the substance of our relationship with China and the discussions that we have had and are having loom very large in our