§ Mr. Whitneyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate China's gross foreign exchange earnings from Hong Kong over the past five years for which records are available, and the percentage of those figures represented by visible exports.
§ Mr. HurdChina's visible exports to Hong Kong over the last five years were as follows:
£ sterling million Total 1978 1,173.1 1979 1,425.4 1980 1,896.1 1981 2,601.8 1982 3,084.4 No accurate and complete figures are available to Her Majesty's Government for China's gross foreign exchange earnings from Hong Kong. However, visible earnings are estimated to represent between 60 and 80 per cent. of China's gross foreign exchange earnings from Hong Kong.
§ Mr. Whitneyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what trading benefits Hong Kong gains from its status as a dependent territory of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. HurdAs a British dependent territory, Hong Kong is represented on the British delegation to the general agreement on tariffs and trade. By virtue of this, it also participats in the multi-fibre arrangement. Where the United Kingdom is a member of international commodity agreements, these can be extended to include Hong Kong.
§ Mr. Whitneyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the balance of trade between the United Kingdom and Hong Kong for the past 413W five years for which figures are available; and what is the net revenue to the United Kingdom Government that arises as a result of Hong Kong's status as a dependent territory.
§ Mr. HurdThe following table shows the balance of visible trade between the United Kingdom and Hong Kong for the period 1978–82:
£ million 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 Exports to Hong Kong (FOB) 361.7 439.4 559.2 614.0 732.5 Imports from Hong Kong (CIF) 527.8 689.2 849.8 896.6 872.5 Balance -166.1 -249.8 -290.6 -282.6 -140.0 No authoritative figures for invisibles are available, but it is clear that in this sector the United Kingdom has a surplus. The United Kingdom does not impose taxes on Hong Kong, and thus receives no direct revenue from there. There are some relatively small budgetary transactions with the territory—for example, concerning defence. These have in the past led to a net cost to the United Kingdom, but Hong Kong has assumed a greater proportion of costs in recent years.