TNAG-1840-FCO40-2615-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 120

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DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)

resolved to remove the uncertainty imposed by the 1997

deadline. The visit of the Prime Minister to China in

1982 provided an appropriate opportunity to open

discussions with the Chinese Government about Hong Kong's

future. As a result of that visit, the two sides agreed

that talks would begin "with the common aim of

maintaining the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong".

PRIVACY MARKING

In Confidence

II. The negotiation of the Joint Declaration

5.

The negotiations lasted two years, from September

1982 to Septmber 1984, when the documents comprising the

Agreement were initialled. The negotiations fell into

two phases: an initial phase, conducted through the

British Embassy in Peking; and a second phase of formal

talks, which began in July 1983 and consisted of 22

rounds of negotiations over 14 months, supplemented by

informal contacts, and in the final four months by

full-time discussion of draft texts tabled by the two

sides. The Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, was

closely involved at every stage in the second phase

of the talks and intervened personally at several

important points in the negotiations.

6. The negotiations were complex and difficult. The

British side initially argued hard for the retention of

British administration in Hong Kong after 1997 as the

surest way of achieving the continuing prosperity and

stability of the territory. After protracted discussion,

however, it became clear that the continuation of British

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