XN000022-1991-01-24 — Page 2

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1991

1

TRANSCRIPT OF GOVERNOR'S PRESS CONFERENCE AT AIRPPORT

FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPT OF WHAT THE GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID WILSON, SAID AT THE AIRPORT THIS MORNING (THURSDAY) ON HIS RETURN FROM A VISIT TO PEKING:

GOOD MORNING, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE MORE CONVENIENT FOR ALL OF YOU AND MORE CONVENIENT FOR ME IF I SAT DOWN FOR A FEW MINUTES RATHER THAN JUST TALK TO YOU STANDING UP AS I CAME THROUGH.

THAT

LET ME FIRST OF ALL JUST SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT WHAT I'VE BERN DOING IN PEKING. YOU ALL KNOW WHO I HAVE BEEN SEEING, I'M SURE,

I'M SURE, THAT I TIAN SAW PREMIER LI PENG, THAT MY HOST WAS THE VICE FOREIGN MINISTER, ZENGPEI,

I SAW THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS AND THE TRADE, MR LI LANQING, THAT I HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH THE DIRECTOR OF HIONG KONG AND MACAU AFFAIRS OFFICE, MR LU PING. SO THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE I WAS SEEING. I DISCUSSED A WIDE RANGE OF 199SUES,

LOT OF THINGS WHICH ARE OF COMMON CONCERN WITH, ECONOMIC RELATIONS, QUITE A I'LL LOT OF TALK ON THAT, IT WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE BACKGROUND, COME BACK TO THAT IN A MOMENT.

A

MATTERS OF MUTUAL CONCERNS TO BOTH OF US LIKE CROSS-BORDER CO- 30 THE PROBLEMS WE FACE AT THE MOMENT WITH SMUGGLING AND OPERATION, ON,

THE QUESTION OF VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE, SO I DISCUSSED ALL THOSE AS WELL AS THE QUESTION OF THE AIRPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECTS.

I SPENT A GOOD DEAL OF TIME, OF COURSE, DISCUSSING THE AIRPORT AND IT WAS A VERY GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO EXCHANGE VIEWS ON THAT, AGAIN, I'LL COME BACK TO THAT IN A MOMENT.

OF

ON ECONOMIC RELATIONS, AND I SAY THIS AFTER THE BEGINNING BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT TENDS TO BE LOST SIGHT OF,

ΤΟ I POINTED OUT PEOPLE IN PEKING HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO US NOW THAT WE HAVE VERY CLOSE ECONOMIC LINKS WITH THE MAINLAND OF CHINA, PARTICULARLY.

WITH COURSE,

GUANGDONG. AND THAT THESE WERE CONTINUING TO DEVELOP REALLY VERY RAPIDLY, DESPITE WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE REST OF THE WORLD. ONE FIGURE BEING THAT IN THE FIRST OF ELEVEN MONTHS OF LAST YEAR, TWO-WAY TRADE WITH CHINA WENT UP BY 14 PERCENT AND THAT'S ALREADY ON A VERY STRONG BASE. AND I WAS POINTING OUT THAT THIS BEEN OF GREAT VALUE TO US IN A TIME WHEN IN THE REST OF THE WORLD ECONOMIC SITUATION HAS BEEN SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN, AND THAT WAS BACKGROUND TO A LOT OF THE OTHER PRACTICAL THINGS I WAS TALKING ABOUT.

ON

HAS

THE

THE

CENTRE

ON THE AIRPORT, WE HAD A GOOD DISCUSSION ABOUT THE AIRPORT, LAYING OUT

MY SIDE WHY WE WERE SO KEEN TO GET ON

MAJOR WITH A INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECT LIKE THIS, WHY WE SAW IT AS VERY IMPORTANT HONG KONG WAS GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE A PLACE WHICH IS PROSPEROUS AND PROSPEROUS INTO THE FUTURE. BUT ALSO IT WAS GOING TO BE A FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND A CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCE TIME

REGION WHEN THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER PLACES ROUND THE WOULD BE ONLY TOO HAPPY TO TRY TO REPLACE HONG KONG IN THAT ROLE. I WAS EXPLAINING THAT OBJECTIVE.

IF

NOW

AT A WHICH

90

/I WAS