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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1990
THIS
"THESE EXCHANGES MEAN THAT A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF HONG KONG OFFICIALS HAVE FREQUENT CONTACT WITH THEIR CHINESE COUNTERPARTS, IS A RELATIVELY NEW BUT IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT.
"SO
FAR THIS YEAR, OVER 60 OFFICIAL VISITS HAVE BEEN HONG KONG CIVIL SERVANTS TO VARIOUS PARTS OF CHINA. I HOPE MORE SUCH CONTACTS IN THE COMING YEAR, AND ALSO TO SEE MORE OFFICIALS VISITING HONG KONG.
OF OUR CIVIL
MADE BY
TO SEE CHINESE
SERVICE
"WE NEED, IN ADDITION, TO MAKE MEMBERS BETTER-INFORMED ABOUT CHINA. WE WILL, THEREFORE, DEVELOP OUR PRESENT CHINA TRAINING PROGRAMME SO THAT CIVIL SERVANTS, AND WITH DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITIES, CAN BECOME CHINA AND THE WAY IN WHICH CHINA OPERATES.
AT DIFFERENT LEVELS MORE FAMILIAR WITH
"I BELIEVE THAT GREATER FAMILIARITY, AND MORE PERSONAL CONTACT AT ALL LEVELS, WILL HELP US TO HANDLE DIFFERENCES OF OPINION, WHEN THEY OCCUR, IN A MORE CONSTRUCTIVE WAY," HE SAID.
SIR DAVID SAID THAT, ABOVE ALL, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO OVERSTATE THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA. CHINA WAS OUR LARGEST TRADING PARTNER AND A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO OUR GDP GROWTH.
THE FLOW OF CAPITAL, TECHNOLOGY AND COMMERCIAL EXPERTISE FROM HONG KONG INTO GUANGDONG, AS WELL AS OTHER PARTS OF SOUTHERN CHINA, WAS A LONG-TERM FEATURE OF OUR ECONOMY. SO WAS THE FLOW OF GOODS AND FOODSTUFFS FROM CHINA TO HERE.
"IN 1989, NO LESS THAN 14,000 HONG KONG-BASED FACTORIES EMPLOYED SOME TWO MILLION WORKERS IN SOUTHERN CHINA. THIS HAS NOT ONLY STRENGTHENED OUR PRODUCTION BASE, BUT HAS ALSO PLAYED AN IMPORTANT PART IN BRINGING ABOUT AN AVERAGE ANNUAL INCREASE IN OUR TOTAL CHINA TRADE OF 30 PER CENT OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
"THE SOUTHERN COASTAL BELT OF CHINA, AND THE PEARL RIVER DELTA IN PARTICULAR, IS SET TO BE AN AREA OF SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR THE NEXT TWO OR THREE DECADES. HONG KONG MUST BE READY AND ABLE TO PLAY A MAJOR PART IN THIS PROCESS," HE SAID.
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