CONFIDENTIAL
063267
MDHIAN 2927
THEOBERNESE NOTE ORETBENIANDE CON MSQUARE OBRACKETS WOOL TANGS' TOBBEORE DELETED. (CLOSE SQUARE BRACKETS)
(IV) LOOKING AHEAD
11. AS PROVIDED FOR IN ANNEX II TO THE JOINT DECLARATION, THE JOINT LIAISON GROUP WILL HAVE ITS PRINCIPAL BASE IN HONG KONG FROM 1 JULY NEXT YEAR. THIS SHOULD SERVE TO IMPROVE CONTACTS BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH AND CHINESE TEAMS, AND TO GIVE FURTHER IMPETUS TO THE WORK OF THE GROUP.
12. I AM CONFIDENT THAT THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE JOINT LIAISON GROUP
RELATIONS WHICH AND OF THE LAND COMMISSION, AS WELL AS THE GOOD
WILL HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE BRITISH AND CHINESE SIDES, PROVIDE A FIRM FOUNDATION FOR ACHIEVING A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO 1997.
(V) BASIC LAW
13. OVER THE PAST YEAR, THE BASIC LAW DRAFTING COMMITTEE AND ITS VARIOUS SUB-GROUPS HAVE MADE SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS IN DRAFTING THE BASIC LAW WHICH WILL PUT INTO EFFECT CHINESE POLICIES TOWARDS THE SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION AS SET OUT IN THE JOINT DECLARATION AND ITS ANNEXES. NATURALLY, THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG HAVE BEEN WATCHING THE DRAFTING PROCESS WITH KEEN INTEREST. MANY HAVE BEEN DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS. THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE BASIC LAW, DUE TO BE PUBLISHED EARLY NEXT YEAR, WILL BE ANOTHER KEY MILESTONE INPUTTING INTO PLACE A CLEAR STRUCTURE FOR THE FUTURE.
(C) ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA
14. HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC LINKS WITH CHINA ARE CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN. DURING THE PAST YEAR CHINA HAS REMAINED OUR LARGEST TRADING PARTNER. WE ARE NOW THE BIGGEST SINGLE MARKET FOR CHINESE EXPORTS, QUITE APART FROM THE LARGE AMOUNT OF CHINESE GOODS WHICH ARE TRANSHIPPED TO OTHER MARKETS THROUGH HONG KONG. TOTAL VISIBLE TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND HONG KONG IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1987 SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 52 PER CENT OVER THE FIRST HALF OF 1986. THIS IS REMARKABLE BY ANY STANDARDS. HONG KONG IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR A VERY HIGH PROPORTION OF EXTERNAL INVESTMENT IN CHINA. BETWEEN 1979 AND 1985, SOME TWO THIRDS OF ALL PLEDGED EXTERNAL INVESTMENT IN CHINA CAME FROM HONG KONG. CHINESE INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG HAS ALSO CONTINUED TO GROW AND FINANCIAL LINKS BETWEEN US HAVE CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN, BOTH IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER AND SCALE OF FINANCIAL
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CONFIDENTIAL
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