§ 15. Mr. Hal Millerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, for the purpose of discussions with the Government of the People's Republic of China, he has made any assessment of the contribution Hong Kong makes to the economy of the People's Republic.
§ Mr. PymHong Kong's contribution to the economy of the People's Republic of China is a significant factor in discussions about its future arrangements. It is difficult to make a full and precise assessment of this contribution, but Chinese leaders have themselves frequently acknowledged Hong Kong's importance to their "four modernisations" programme.
§ Mr. MillerDoes my right hon. Friend agree that it is essential to the successful outcome of the discussions that the Government of the People's Republic should clearly understand not only that the benefits which they receive from Hong Kong in markets, foreign exchange, and so on, far outweigh any benefit to this country, but that the continuance of Hong Kong and of those benefits depends crucially on maintaining the status of the Hong Kong dollar?
§ Mr. PymI agree with my hon. Friend on both points. I believe that the people of Hong Kong very much want the arrangement to continue as before. We are doing our best to bring home to the Chinese the importance of the points made by my hon. Friend. Indeed, they are the very elements of the success and prosperity of Hong Kong.