TNAG-1466-FCO40-1993-Visits-by-Sir-Edward-Youde--Governor-of-Hong-Kong--to-the-UK-1986 — Page 28

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Mr Williams asked whether free trade area negotiations with the US might be seen by China as provocative at a delicate time. Sir Edward said that undoubtedly China could be very sensitive over the status of Hong Kong and for that reason the Hong Kong Government had to be "extra careful". In any case, the first priority should be to settle the GATT status of Hong Kong. The maintenance of her external trading rights was vital, and Hong Kong could ride out the current and future political uncertainties only on the basis of expanding trade and a thriving economy. In this context he noted that the US Congress was likely to reconsider the Jenkins Bill in July, and this obviously gave cause for concern.

GATT

6 Mr Williams suggested that Hong Kong might produce its own study of the services sector for the purposes of the continuing work of the Jaramillo group and the forthcoming Round. It was noted that China was carefully preparing the ground for a negotiation to resume her former GATT seat; it would however be several years before she was ready to accede to the GATT. Sir Edward commented that China as a market for Western countries was "interesting but limited" - there was simply not the resources and volume of trade available there which had been promised in earlier days and were sometimes promised

now.

A British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

7 Sir Edward was favourable to this suggestion, and said that a Chamber could do useful day to day work. On the wider policy aspect, he did not favour the setting up of formal governmental joint commissions which he described as ineffective and a "bureaucratic waste of time". It would be much better to have what he described as a "business co-operation committee", run by businessmen, which could meet as and when it had real subjects to discuss, would comprise principally businessmen, and could be a useful sounding board and stimulus for government policy. Hong Kong already had such committees with US and Japanese interests, and they had proved a practical help in the removal of some restrictions in trade between the colony and both those countries.

M D C JOHNSON

HKK CQ6/4

ALPEIVED IN REGISTRY

2 7 FEB 1986

PA

IDEJISTRY

Hoon Taken

двет

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