XN000022-1989-01-27 — Page 9

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 1989

THIS IS MORE THAN TWICE OUR GDP AND REPRESENTS AN INCREASE 38 TIMES IN 21 YEARS, OR GROWTH OF MORE THAN 12 PER CENT PER ANNUM.

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UNDERLINING HONG KONG'S RELIANCE ON TRADE AND THE TRADING ENVIRONMENT, MR JOHNSON SAID THAT HONG KONG NOW RANKED AMONG THE WORLD'S TOP 13 TRADERS AND HAD THE WORLD'S LARGEST CONTAINER PORT IN TERMS OF THROUGHPUT.

PUTTING THIS IN A CALIFORNIA CONTEXT, HE NOTED THAT HONG HANDLED FOUR TIMES AS MANY CONTAINERS AS THE PORT OF OAKLAND AND THAN THE PORTS OF LONG BEACH AND LOS ANGELES COMBINED.

KONG MORE

TURNING TO HONG KONG'S FUTURE GROWTH, MR JOHNSON SAID THIS WOULD NOT BE FOUND SO MUCH IN MANUFACTURING, BUT IN SERVICES AND IN HONG KONG'S REDISCOVERED, AND RAPIDLY EXPANDING, ROLE AS AN ENTREPOT.

"HONG KONG IS ALREADY A SOURCE OF GOODS, INVESTMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND KNOW-HOW FOR THE MAINLAND. CHINA IS RECKONED TO DERIVE OVER 30 PER CENT OF ITS FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS FROM OR THROUGH HONG KONG, HE SAID.

"SOMETHING LIKE 60 PER CENT OF ALL FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CHINA SIMILARLY COMES THROUGH OR FROM HONG KONG.

AT THE SAME TIME, MR JOHNSON SAID, HONG KONG PROVIDED MANY ESSENTIAL SERVICES FOR CHINA.

"PERHAPS THE MOST OBVIOUS IS THE GROWING ROLE AS AN ENTREPOT BETWEEN CHINA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD, HE SAID.

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"OUR RE-EXPORT FIGURES AS A RESULT HAVE SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH, AND ARE NOW EQUIVALENT TO, OR EVEN THAN OUR DOMESTIC EXPORTS.

BEEN SHOWING A BIT LARGER

FOR HAS HUGE HAS USED CAPITAL

"HONG KONG HAS ALSO EMERGED AS THE PRINCIPAL INTERMEDIARY TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND TAIWAN AND KOREA. THE MAINLAND ALSO AND GROWING INVESTMENTS IN HONG KONG, IN ALL FIELDS, AND HONG KONG AS A MEANS OF ACCESS, FOR EXAMPLE, TO THE WORLD'S MARKETS.

"THERE IS THEREFORE AN EVOLVING ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP HONG KONG AND CHINA WHICH IS OF IMMENSE VALUE FOR BOTH SIDES.

"I DO NOT THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT EITHER PARTY TO JEOPARDISE IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE."

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