TNAG-1401-FCO40-1873-Future-of-Hong-Kong-continued-participation-in-the-General-A-1985 — Page 189

PRC DECLARATION

CONFIDENTIAL

DSR 11C

I am instructed by

to refer to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

(the Agreement), to the Joint Declaration of the

Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's

Republic of China on the question of Hong Kong, signed

in Peking on 19 December 1984, and to the communication

which the United Kingdom Mission in Geneva has today

addressed to the Director of Legal Affairs, GATT.

the

In accordance with that Joint Declaration the

Hong Kong area will, on 1 July 1997, become a Special

Administrative Region of the People's Republic of

China, and will continue to possess full autonomy in

the conduct of its external commercial relations and of

all the other matters provided for in the Agreement.

The Government of the People's Republic of China

accordingly requests that the Hong Kong Special

Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

should, when established, continue to be deemed to be a

contracting party to the Agreement.

CONFIDENTIAL