TNAG-2346-FCO40-3415-Political-relations-between-Hong-Kong--Japan-and-China-1991 — Page 98

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FM TOKYO

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 658

OF 08082OZ AUGUST 91

HKD 621/1

ра

INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG, PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

ZA 164376

MDLIAN 1546

Int ampport Japan /HK.

MA 8/3

JAPAN/CHINA/HONG KONG

SUMMARY

1.

JAPANESE PLAN POSITIVE REFERENCES TO HONG KONG DURING KAIFU'S VISIT TO PEKING NEXT WEEK. EMPEROR WILL VISIT CHINA BUT NOT IN 1992.

DETAIL

2.

WE CALLED ON KITERA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR CHINA DIVISION MFA ON 7 AUGUST FOR A PREVIEW OF PRIME MINISTER KAIFU'S VISIT TO PEKING FROM 10-13 AUGUST.

3. ON HONG KONG, KITERA SHOWED US KAIFU'S BRIEF, WHICH MADE THREE POINTS:

A) THE MAINTENANCE OF HONG KONG'S PROSPERITY AND STABILITY BASED ON THE PROVISIONS OF THE JOINT DECLARATION AND BASIC LAW, AND ON CONTINUED ECONOMIC FREEDOM AFTER 1997 WOULD BE IMPORTANT NOT ONLY FOR CHINA'S OWN POLICIES OF OPENNESS AND REFORM BUT ALSO FOR THE ASIA/PACIFIC REGION AS A WHOLE AND FOR INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY. JAPAN WOULD HOPE TO COOPERATE WITH CHINA TO THIS END.

B) THE ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JAPAN AND HONG KONG WAS CONTINUING TO DEVELOP: HONG KONG HAD AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CHINA'S OWN ECONOMY. IN ORDER TO SEE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG'S ECONOMY IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT A DYNAMIC ECONOMIC SYSTEM BE MAINTAINED AND CONTINUE TO FUNCTION AFTER 1997.

C) JAPAN ''SINCERELY WELCOMED '

TI THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UK ON THE NEW AIRPORT PROJECT: THIS HAD COME TO BE SEEN AS A SYMBOL OF HONG KONG'S FUTURE PROSPERITY AND STABILITY.

4.

ANOTHER ELEMENT OF KAIFU'S VISIT WILL BE DISCUSSION OF ARMS CONTROL ISSUES (REPORTED SEPARATELY). ON BILATERAL MATTERS,

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