TNAG-2473-FCO40-3600-Asian-Development-Bank-liabilities-of-Hong-Kong-1992 — Page 62

CONFIDENTIAL

when the former visited China, 2-4 September 1991. The Chinese Government agreed to support and to encourage potential investors.

- British companies have already won some airport-related

business including a substantial number of consultancy

contracts, an engineering contract and the contract for the

airport terminal design. Several major airport related

contracts are due to be awarded soon, and there are strong

British contenders for these. The Chinese are currently

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considering in the Airport Committee, the major agreements

between the Hong Kong Government and the Mass Transit

Railway, and the Airport Authority. Chinese acquiesence to

these is necessary before the projects can proceed much further: and the timetable is very tight.

Joint Liaison Group

The main forum for implementation of the Joint Declaration is the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG). Its terms of

reference are set out in Annex II to the Joint Declaration.

The JLG meets at least three times a year in plenary

session (in London, Peking and Hong Kong). There are

also frequent informal contacts between the British and

Chinese permanent JLG offices in Hong Kong. The main

function of the JLG is to agree on the necessary legal and practical steps required to implement the Joint Declaration and to ensure a smooth transfer of sovereignty in 1997.

Much of its work is technical in nature.

Agreements reached in the past include Hong Kong's continued participation in International Organisations and

the application to Hong Kong of the International Labour Organisation conventions. However, with the events in Peking in June 1989, further progress in the JLG became

extremely difficult. During the Prime Minister's visit in September 1991 to China, the two governments agreed to make

greater efforts to increase the rate of achieving progress.

ALKADA/2

JRB

CONFIDENTIAL