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CS states HK's case for extension of China's MFN status
The Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, said Hong Kong would be lobbying the US Congress for its support for the unconditional renewal of China's Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status.
Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Asia-Pacific Research Centre of the Stanford University in the United States on Wednesday (May 29, San Francisco time), Mrs Chan said the openness of Hong Kong's economy made it very vulnerable to any action which impeded the free flow of trade.
"This is particularly true when trade tensions affect the relationship between our two largest trading partners, the United States and China," she said.
In stating Hong Kong's case for the unconditional extension of MFN for China, Mrs Chan said there were two components of Hong Kong's arguments.
Firstly, she said: "The general argument is that we in Hong Kong believe in free trade, and we believe that your (the United States) government's policy of constructive engagement with China is the only policy which offers the best hope of progress on the full range of issues of concern to you, to Hong Kong and to anyone who share our values.
"Secondly, the particular argument, or if you prefer it, the special pleading, is that Hong Kong could suffer severely if China's MFN status is not renewed or is conditional.
"We could lose up to 90,000 jobs. We could lose up to three-fifths of our expected GDP growth."
Mrs Chan said Hong Kong was grateful for the US Government's understanding on the issue and, in particular, for President Clinton's decision to renew MFN for another year.
The Chief Secretary hoped that the United States and China could reach an agreement on the control of intellectual property piracy before the June 17 deadline and that MFN status for China would be renewed without conditions.
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