XN000022-1987-06-24 — Page 45

CHINA.

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IN 10 YEARS TIME SOVEREIGNTY OVER

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1987

HONG KONG WILL REVERT TO

"IT WOULD BE UNREALISTIC TO EXPECT EXISTING LINKS TO SURVIVE BEYOND THAT TIME IN THEIR PRESENT FORM.

"HOW OUR FORMAL LINKS CAN BE ADAPTED TO THE FUTURE POLITICAL STATUS OF HONG KONG WILL NO DOUBT BE THE SUBJECT OF MUCH CONSIDERATION AND CONSULTATION OVER THE COMING YEARS.

"BUT IN ANY EVENT I AM CERTAIN THAT LINKS ESTABLISHED NOW AT A PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LEVEL WILL PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR A LASTING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AND THE COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES FOR MANY YEARS TO COME, MR THOMAS SAID.

MAY PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES PUBLISHED

THE LATTER PROVISIONAL

THE RAPID GROWTH IN EXTERNAL TRADE RECORDED SINCE PART OF 1986 WAS SUSTAINED IN MAY 1987, ACCORDING TO THE TRADE FIGURES PUBLISHED TODAY (WEDNESDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN MAY 1987, AT $16,436 MILLION, INCREASED BY 33.3 PER CENT OR $4,102 MILLION OVER MAY 1986, WHILE THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 48.8 PER CENT OR $4,821 MILLION TO $14,690 MILLION.

TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS, AT $31,126 MILLION. WAS 40.2 PER CENT OR $8.923 MILLION HIGHER THAN IN MAY 1986. THE VALUE OF IMPORTS GREW BY 39.5 PER CENT OR $8,824 MILLION OVER MAY 1986 TO $31,174 MILLION.

THAT OF

OF THE IN MAY IN

AS THE GROWTH IN THE VALUE OF IMPORTS WAS SLOWER THAN TOTAL EXPORTS, THE VISIBLE TRADE GAP (THAT IS, THE PROPORTION VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS) 1987 NARROWED TO 0.2 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH A GAP OF 0.7 PER CENT MAY 1986. IN ABSOLUTE VALUE TERMS, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT RECORDED IN MAY 1987, AT $48 MILLION, WAS $99 MILLION LESS THAN THAT RECORDED IN MAY 1986.

PUTTING THE MONTH'S TRADE FIGURES INTO CONTEXT, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 1987 WAS $134,932 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF $69,503 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS OF $65,429 MILLION.

/COMPARED WITH