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Trade with Britain
United Kingdom and Western Germany) but sales to some other
countries in Western Europe are rapidly increasing. Hong
Kong consistently imports more than it exports but in recent
years the adverse balance has been more than made up by
inflows of capital and by earnings from shipping, insurance
and banking services and from tourism.
29. In 1970 the balance of trade between Hong Kong and the
United Kingdom moved in our favour both because of an
improvement in our exports to Hong Kong and because of a drop
in our imports from the Colony. The British market, which
took approximately 12% of Hong Kong's domestic exports in 1970,
is important to the Colony not only because of its size but
also because of the benefits of Commonwealth preferences.
These provide Hong Kong industry with the opportunity to try out
new products in a "domestic market" which is lacking in Hong
Kong. United Kingdom exports to Hong Kong in 1970 totalled
£105m. (or 9% of all Hong Kong imports). Our exports, while
showing an increase in value in the last few years, represent
a continually shrinking share of the Hong Kong market, of which
Japan (24%), China (16%) and the USA (13%) hold the largest
shares. The main British exports are machinery, non-metallic
mineral manufactures, textile yarns and transport equipment.
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