TNAG-1458-FCO40-1982-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-China-1986 — Page 105

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Para 23: The choice between growth and rapidly rising foreign debt may not be a crucial one in the immediate future. I suspect that the improvement in living standards envisaged by the year 2000 would be possible even with slower import growth.

9.

The Memorandum

Para 10: Remarkable growth in imports was seen in consumer goods during 1985 but from a fairly low level, and low share of total imports. The main factor in the trade deficit was the growth in industrial raw materials and machinery. As noted in the despatch,

the visible trade deficit is improving only very slightly.

Para 13: Encroachment on arable land exacerbates immense existing pressure for food from this resource. It may be a longer term need to shift to increasing net food imports (particularly of land- intensive crops) financed by net exports of manufactured goods to more thinly-populated food-specialising regions.

Nick Hellett.

N O Hallett

Economic Advisers WH 426B

233-5335

7 October 1986

CONFIDENTIAL

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