TNAG-1342-FCO40-17722-Visit-by-Margaret-Thatcher--UK-Prime-Minister--to-Beijing-fo-1984 — Page 22

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goodwill and friendship can overcome misunderstanding;

that an intractable problem inherited from the past can be

solved through an imaginative approach to the future; and

that divisions in international life can be overcome in ways

which preserve the autonomy and individuality of the societies

affected.

The Joint Declaration is of the highest significance

to our two Governments and peoples. Negotiations began on

the basis of a common aim for Hong Kong, agreed when I met

Chairman Deng Xiaoping in 1982. They were sustained

some difficult moments

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despite

by an underlying sense that trust and

understanding were growing between us. They conclude today

in the

reaffirmation of our conviction that Britain

and China can work even more closely together in the future

for Hong Kong, for our two peoples, and for international

understanding and prosperity.

There are, of course, great differences between our

two societies, but we also have much in common. No civilization

has a longer history than China's. In Britain too, we have a

great sense of history. Both our people are talented and

inventive. The invention of printing in China is so basic

to world civilization that we take it for granted, and the

productive impulse set off by Britain's Industrial Revolution

is still reverberating around the world.

Progress industrial or social means change. Such

change is never easy. The sense of history and cultural depth

we both enjoy has given our societies a great sense of purpose.