XN000022-1987-12-02 — Page 21

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1987

HONG KONG WAS NOW CHINA'S LARGEST TRADING PARTNER AND LARGEST EXPORT MARKET, ACCOUNTING FOR MORE THAN A QUARTER OF ITS GLOBAL TRADE, HE SAID.

IN RETURN, CHINA WAS ALSO HONG KONG'S LARGEST TRADING PARTNER AND SECOND LARGEST EXPORT MARKET, HE ADDED.

"WE ARE THE LARGEST SOURCE BY FAR OF EXTERNAL INVESTMENT IN CHINA. AND CHINA HAS BECOME A MAJOR INVESTOR IN HONG KONG.

"HONG KONG'S ROLE AS AN ENTREPOT AND AS A SERVICES CENTRE FOR CHINA'S TRADE WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD HAD DEVELOPED FAST, AND HAS BECOME IMMENSELY VALUABLE BOTH TO CHINA AND HONG KONG," HE SAID.

COMMENTING ON HONG KONG'S RELATIONSHIP WITH GUANGDONG IN PARTICULAR, SIR DAVID SAID THAT IN THE NINE YEARS SINCE CHINA ADOPTED THE POLICY OF OPENING UP TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, THE GROWTH IN TRADE AND ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION HAD BEEN ENORMOUSLY BENEFICIAL ΤΟ HONG KONG'S GROWTH.

"IT IS HELPING TRANSFORM THE PEARL RIVER DELTA AREA OF GUANGDONG INTO ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC AND FASTEST GROWING ECONOMIC AREAS OF CHINA."

HONG KONG HAD PLAYED A FULL PART IN CHINA'S MODERNISATION AND WOULD REMAIN ABLE AND WILLING TO CONTINUE PLAYING THAT PART, HE SAID.

THIRD QUARTER EXPORTS STATISTICS BY INDUSTRIAL ORIGIN PUBLISHED

AND

THE SIX MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRY GROUPS IN TERMS OF THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF THIS YEAR WERE TEXTILES, WEARING APPAREL, ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS, PROFESSIONAL OPTICAL EQUIPMENT, PLASTIC PRODUCTS, AND BASIC METALS AND FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS.

TOGETHER THEY ACCOUNTED FOR 84 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDISE EXPORTS DURING THE PERIOD.

AMONG ALL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, THE LARGEST INCREASES IN ABSOLUTE VALUE OVER THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1986 WERE : TEXTILES (+$3,408 MILLION), WEARING APPAREL (+$2,647 MILLION), ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS (+$2,279 MILLION), PROFESSIONAL AND OPTICAL EQUIPMENT (+$880 MILLION), BASIC METALS AND FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS (+$632 MILLION), AND MACHINERY, EXCEPT ELECTRICAL (+$440 MILLION).

/IN PERCENTAGE