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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1987
GATEWAY ROLE REMAINS IMPORTANT
HONG KONG PLAYS A VITAL ROLE AS A GATEWAY BETWEEN CHINA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD, THE GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID WILSON, TOLD THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY) WHEN REVIEWING HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA.
HE SAID CHINA HAD REMAINED "OUR LARGEST TRADING PARTNER"
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"IN TURN, WE ARE NOW THE BIGGEST SINGLE MARKET FOR CHINESE EXPORTS, QUITE APART FROM THE LARGE AMOUNT OF CHINESE GOODS WHICH ARB TRANSSHIPPED TO OTHER MARKETS THROUGH HONG KONG," HE ADDED.
PLACES IN
SIR DAVID SAID TOTAL VISIBLE TRADE BETWEEN THE TWO THE FIRST HALF OF 1987 SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 52 PER CENT OVER THE FIRST HALF OF LAST YEAR.
"THIS IS
REMARKABLE BY ANY STANDARDS,
HE SAID.
HE SAID HONG KONG WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR A VERY HIGH PROPORTION OF EXTERNAL INVESTMENT IN CHINA. SIR DAVID NOTED THAT BETWEEN 1979 AND 1985, SOME TWO-THIRDS OF ALL PLEDGED EXTERNAL INVESTMENT IN CHINA CAME FROM HONG KONG.
'THE PROCESS IS TWO WAY, CHINESE INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG CONTINUES TO GROW, AS DO THE FINANCIAL LINKS BETWEEN US, HE SAID.
SIR DAVID NOTED THAT AN IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT WAS THE INCREASING AMOUNT OF MANUFACTURING PROCESSING NOW BEING SUB-CONTRACTED BY HONG KONG BUSINESSES TO CHINA, PARTICULARLY ΤΟ THE PEARI, RIVER DELTA REGION.
"IT HAS BEEN ESTIMATED THAT UP TO ONE MILLION CHINESE WORKERS ARE NOW EMPLOYED IN THIS WAY. ALL THESE TRENDS WORK TO THE BENEFIT OF BOTH OUR ECONOMIES," HE ADDED.
SIR DAVID SAID TRAVEL BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA ALSO CONTINUED TO GROW. HONG KONG PEOPLE MADE ALMOST 12 MILLION VISITS TO CHINA IN 1986; AND 280,000 CHINESE VISITORS CAME то HONG KONG FOR BUSINESS, PLEASURE AND FAMILY REASONS.
IN ADDITION, HONG KONG PLAYED A VITAL ROLE AS A GATEWAY BETWEEN CHINA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD WITH 670,000 OVERSEAS VISITORS TO CHINA TRAVELLING THROUGH HONG KONG LAST YEAR, SIR DAVID SAID.
HE ALSO SAID TRAVEL BETWEEN THE TWO PLACES HAD RECENTLY BEEN MADE EASIER BY BETTER FACILITIES AT THE BORDER AND SIMPLIFIED IMMIGRATION PROCEDURES. "FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS ARE BEING PLANNED, HF ADDED.
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