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WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THE SAME RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ITS EXTERNAL
COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. THIS DECLARATION SHOULD UNDERLINE NEXT
WORD NOT REFER TO ANY PARTICULAR GATT ARTICLE.
DRAFT TEXTS OF THESE THREE TYPES OF DECLARATION REFERRED TO IN
THIS PARAGRAPH ARE AT ANNEX A.
15.
IT'
LEGALLY, THE CHINESE DECLARATION MIGHT NOT STRICTLY BE
NECESSARY. HOWEVER, SUCH A DECLARATION WOULD HELP TO DISPEL ANY
DOUBTS ENTERTAINED BY OTHER CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE GATT.
WOULD ALSO REDUCE THE RISK OF ANY CHINESE BACK-SLIDING IN THE
FUTURE. THE DECLARATION COULD BE CONFIRMED BY CHINA IN 1997 -
BUT THIS IS NOT ESSENTIAL. IT COULD BE PRESENTED TO THE CHINESE
AS A RE-AFFIRMATION OF SECTION VI OF ANNEX 1 TO THE JOINT
DECLARATION.
HONG KONG'S PARTICIPATION IN THE CCC
16. HONG KONG CURRENTLY ATTENDS SOME OF THE TECHNICAL MEETINGS
OF THE CCC AS PART OF THE UK DELEGATION. THE UK IS A MEMBER OF
THE CC AND SO IS CHINA.
17. MEMBERSHIP OF THE CCC IS OPEN TO ANY SEPARATE CUSTOMS
TERRITORY WHICH:
(A) IS PROPOSED BY A CONTRACTING PARTY HAVING RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE NORMAL CONDUCT OF ITS DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS:
(B) IS AUTONOMOUS IN THE CONDUCT OF ITS EXTERNAL COMMERICAL
RELATIONS: AND
(C) IS APPROVED FOR ADMISSION AS A SEPARATE MEMBER BY THE
COUNCIL.
HONG KONG'S POSITION IN CCC IS ANALOGOUS TO THAT IN THE GATT.
HOWEVER AS FAR AS THE CCC IS CONCERNED SEPARATE MEMBERSHIP FOR
HONG KONG WOULD HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL EVEN IF HMG
WERE TO MAKE A DECLARATION TO THE EFFECT THAT HONG KONG POSSESSED
FULL AUTONOMY IN THE CONDUCT OF ITS EXTERNAL COMMERCIAL
RELATIONS.
18.
AS CHINA IS ALREADY A MEMBER OF THE CCC AND THE COUNCIL'S
DISCUSSIONS ARE AT PRESENT PURELY TECHNICAL IN NATURE, HONG
KONG'S INTERESTS IN IT ARE LESS CRITICAL THAN IN THE GATT.
NEVERTHELESS, THE SAME BASIC CONSIDERATIONS WHICH APPLY TO THE GATT APPLY ALSO TO THE CCc. THUS, HMG SHOULD BE ASKED AT THE
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