XN000022-1988-11-10 — Page 34

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1988

A

INDIVIDUAL REDUCTION

IN

BI-LATERAL OVERALL

"INDEED ANY ATTEMPT TO BALANCE ALL RELATIONSHIPS, IF SUCCESSFUL, WOULD LEAD TO PROSPERITY, MR JOHNSON BLABORATED.

||

LARGE

DEFICIT HONG KONG

AS AN ILLUSTRATION, HE OUTLINED THE RUNS WITH CHINA, ABOUT US$3.75 BILLION IN 1987, AND ALSO WITH JAPAN AND SOME OTHER TRADING PARTNERS.

THESE DEFICITS WERE OFFSET BY SURPLUSES WITH THE UNITED STAT CANADA, AND SOME OF HONG KONG'S TRADING PARTNERS IN EUROPE, HE NOTED.

QUOTING A RECENT US TREASURY REPORT INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND EXCHANGE RATE POLICY, MR 1987 WAS KONG'S SURPLUS WITH THE UNITED STATES IN BILLION.

HE POINTED OUT THAT THE REPORT

AMERICAN PRINCIPALLY TO AN INCREASE IN SURPLUS DECLINED BY 28 PER CENT IN THE YEAR OVER 1987.

TO CONGRESS JOHNSON SAID JUST UNDER

ON

HONG

US$6

WENT ON

ΤΟ EXPORTS ΤΟ FIRST EIGHT

STATE

HONG KONG, MONTHS

THAT,

DUE

THE

OF

THIS

"BI-LATERAL AGREEMENTS ALSO HAVE A TENDENCY TO BRING WITH PROTECTIONIST UNDERTONES AGAINST THIRD PARTIES.

THEM

OP

OF THEM WORLD 80

"SO WE IN HONG KONG ARE NOT VERY KEEN ON THE PROLIFERATION SUCH AGREEMENTS. INDEED WE FEAR THAT THERE COULD BE A DANGER SUPERSEDING THE MULTI-LATERAL APPROACH WHICH HAS SERVED THE WELL SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR, MR JOHNSON SAID.

CFT

SAID THAT TURNING TO HONG KONG'S LINKS WITH CHINA, MR JOHNSON

A WHOLE NEW THIS INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT DIMENSION IN TRADE PRESENTS

AND A RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR HONG KONG AND OVERSEAS BUSINESSMEN,

KONG AS AN NEW ROLE FOR HONG

ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA.

HE NOTED THE SPEED AND EXTENT TO WHICH THIS INTERLOCKING ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA HAD GROWN: "CHINA SOLD IN THE NOW SELLS TO HONG KONG MORE THAN 15 TIMES AS MUCH AS IT MID-SEVENTIES.

OF

TO

LARGER

"WE ARE CHINA'S LARGEST MARKET, CHINA HAS COME FROM NOWHERE BECOME HONG KONG'S LARGEST SOURCE

FOREIGN INVESTMENT INDEED THAN ALL OTHER SOURCES COMBINED, MR JOHNSON SAID.

"ON THE

FRONT MANUFACTURING

HONG KONG INTERESTS

NOW ARE

AS INDIRECTLY,

MANY AS TWO MORE THAN THE NUMBKR

HI ADDED.

ESTIMATED TO BE EMPLOYING, DIRECTLY OR MILLION WORKERS IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA AREA EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR IN HONG KONG ITSELF,

ALSO TAKING PART IN THE

SEMINAR ON

OF

THE DANIEL

"HONG KONG

HONGKONG AND

FERNANDEZ, MR FRANKIE

AS

A WORLD SHANGHAI

HONG KONG LEUNG, AN

MARKETPLACE" WERE MR CHRISTOPHER LEU BANKING CORPORATION IN LOS ANGELES; MR TRADE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE; AND ATTORNEY.

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