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Chief Secretary talks with top European leaders
The Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, continued her top-level discussions with European leaders today (Wednesday) when she met the Dutch Prime Minister, Mr Wim Kok, in the Hague.
The meeting lasted half an hour and covered a range of topics, including bilateral trade, investment and a planned visit by Mr Kok to China later in the year which was also likely to take in Hong Kong. Mrs Chan said she and the Governor would welcome a visit by Mr Kok.
The Prime Minister noted that the Netherlands was the fourth largest external investor in Hong Kong's manufacturing industries and a significant investor among the European nations. As a result, there was a shared interest in ensuring that Hong Kong's present systems were maintained and that it continued to be a major international business centre well beyond 1997.
Mrs Chan also had a fruitful exchange of views with the Belgian Prime Minister, Mr Jean-Luc Dehaene, at a meeting in Brussels yesterday.
Mr Dehaene showed a great deal of interest in both Hong Kong and China and raised a number of points such as Hong Kong's infrastructure development, relations with China and the current levels of emigration from Hong Kong.
The Chief Secretary extended an invitation to Mr Dehaene to visit Hong Kong when this could be fitted into his schedule.
At a dinner in the Hague last night, Mrs Chan also took the opportunity to express the hope that European countries would support Hong Kong in its efforts to maintain the territory's unique formula for economic success "far into the next century".
"Plainly, Hong Kong's Chinese future will shape our ties with the rest of the world into the next century," she said.