CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 1401
OF 22113OZ MAY 92
INFO PRIORITY PEKING
CONFIDENTIAL
HKC
026/5
ст
22
032425
MDLIAN 7683
TOP COPY Q DIST?
CALL BY GOVERNOR OF JIANGXI.
1. THE GOVERNOR OF JIANGXI, WU GUANZHENG, CALLED ON ME TODAY (22 MAY). THE PURPOSE OF HIS VISIT WAS TO PROMOTE HONG KONG
INVESTMENT IN JIANGXI. HE ALSO MET ZHOU NAN (DIRECTOR, NCNA), HENRY FOK (CHINESE GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE) AND PEOPLE FROM THE TDC, CHINA TRAVEL SERVICE AND BANK OF CHINA. WE HAD A LIVELY DISCUSSION WHICH FOCUSED MAINLY ON ECONOMIC ISSUES.
2. WU WAS CLEARLY MUCH IMPRESSED BY HONG KONG'S TRADE PERFORMANCE FINANCIAL SECTOR AND COMMUNICATIONS. HE HOPED THAT JIANGXI AND HONG KONG COULD INCREASE THEIR TRADE, INVESTMENT AND TOURISM LINKS. HE TOLD ME THAT 40 PER CENT OF JIANGXI'S EXPORTS ARE NOW SENT TO HONG KONG OR THROUGH HONG KONG. HONG KONG PROVIDES OVER 40 PER CENT OF JIANGXI'S FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND TAIWAN 20 PER CENT. IN 1991, TRADE HAD INCREASED BY 23 PER CENT.
3. LIVING UP TO HIS REPUTATION AS A REFORMIST, WU OUTLINED WITH EVIDENT ENTHUSIASM HIS PLANS FOR OPENING THE PROVINCE TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD - AN INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR LINKING KIUJIANG AND NANCHANG THREE DEVELOPMENT ZONES WOULD BE SET UP. ALTHOUGH THE PROVINCE DID NOT HAVE THE NATURAL ADVANTAGES OF GUANGDONG AND FUJIAN, HE WAS DETERMINED TO BENEFIT FROM THEIR EXPERIENCES OF ECONOMIC AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, HE PLANNED TO RELAX PRICE CONTROLS AND TO LEVY TOLLS ON HIGHWAYS.
4. WU DESCRIBED JAINGXI'S IMPROVING TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE. THERE WERE RAIL LINKS TO PEKING, SHANGHAI, WUHAN, XIAMEN, NANJING AND SHENZHEN AND AIR LINKS TO CANTON, SHENZHEN AND HONG KONG. ADDITIONAL HIGHWAYS WERE BEING BUILT.
5. WU ADMITTED, HOWEVER, THAT AS YET JIANGXI HAD NO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES OR CONTAINER TERMINALS (ONLY 20,000 CONTAINERS WERE USED IN THE WHOLE PROVINCE). THE PEOPLE OF JIANGXI WOULD ALSO HAVE TO BE GIVEN TIME TO ADJUST TO REFORMS.
1
PAGE CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.