TNAG-0369-FCO40-415-Visit-of-Edward-Heath--UK-Prime-Minister--to-Hong-Kong--12-1-1974 — Page 7

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Increasing exports is central to HG's economic policy and considerable Ministerial, official and commercial effort has been devoted to it. The (?) 30% growth in Britain's exports to the world in the past year is evidence of

this.

So to is the increase in our world wide trade promotional activities.

Last year the British Government mounted ? exhibitions, sponsored British

firms participation in ? international exhibitions and spent some £? on this sort of promotion.

And a substantial part of this effort has been directed to this part of the world. The major promotional effortåt present towards Japan because we are really starting almost from scratch in what is a vast dential market. And of

course China, too, offers tremendous trade opportunities that should, incidentally, benefit Hong Kong.

But Hong Kong will not just be in the shadow of all this effort. On the con-

trary it is being brought into new focus for British exporters. The visits of

the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry; the Minister for Trade, the

Minister of Aerospace and Shipping, Lord Thorneycroft as President of the

British Overseas Trade Board, are symbolic of the British Government's real

interest in trade with Hong Kong. As a result of them 3 new impetus has been given to the exploration of the opportunities which Hong Kong offers for our

exports especially in such fields as textile and industrial machinery and machine tools; the construction and civil engineering industry; hospital equipment; the increasing demand for a whole range of consumer goods; and the mechanisation of many hitherto manual tasks; (including machinery for the technical training institutes which are so important to Hong Kong's future in an increasingly technological world).

The surge in the number of Trade Missions to Hong Kong not all of them linked to visits to Japan

in the past year.

G

is part of this process. There have been 20 Missions

At least another 20 are already planned for 1974.

The British Industrial hibition in October 1972 was aimed at reviving our share in the industrial machinery market. It produced some valuable orders

in this spot, it has probably produced over £6 million worth so far. But even

more

Every effort is made to ensure that the information given herein is accurate, but no legal responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions in that information and no responsibility is accepted in regard to the standing of any ùrms, companies or individuals mentioned,