| Dear Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As Chairman of the China Committee, I would
like to deliver this brief report on the work of the China Committee during the past year.
China-related Issues
During the past year, the Committee took an
active role in advising the Chamber on a number of important business issues.
One of its major accomplishments was the
completion of the Chamber's project "China,s Entry into the WTO and the Impact
on Hong Kong Business." With the support from the
Hong Kong Coalition of Service Industries, the Project was initiated in May last year to
gather members' on-the-ground assessments of the affect China's
WTO accession would have on Hong Kong's business. Nine working groups consisting of over
100 Chamber members were set up, in Banking, Insurance, Investment, Professional Services,
Retail and Distribution, Technology, Telecommunications, Textiles and Clothing, and
Trading. The final report, which was released in January 2000, was well received by the
business community as well as SAR government officials. As of today, almost 800 reports
have been sold.
During the year, the Committee also monitored
the progress of various important issues, especially worth mentioning is our work on the
policies on processing industries in China. In March, the Central Government promulgated a
series of regulations to strengthen the control on processing industries in China. In
order to evaluate the impact of the regulations on our members, the Chamber organized an
internal meeting in May and also conducted an all-member survey. Members¡¦ views were channelled to appropriate Central government authorities through
written submissions and meetings with Central Government officials and Hong Kong SAR trade
officials. We were pleased to learn that members' concerns were
well received and considered by the Central authorities. In March 2000, detailed
implementation rules on "Multiple Deposit Guarantee Payment Methods for the
Processing Industries" were announced, providing a workable
solution to the issue.
China Programmes
The Chamber has established very close
working relationship with Chinese officials and trade organisations both in Hong Kong and
in the Mainland. Through these connections, the Chamber can obtain first-hand and timely
information about the Mainland market. It is also an effective forum for voicing members'
concerns. Furthermore, it enables us to co-ordinate more and better
China-related programmes and events, such as organising outgoing missions, receiving
incoming guests and delegations, hosting luncheons, seminars and roundtables, etc.
In 1999, besides the annual working
delegation to Beijing in March, two investment study missions were organised to Guangzhou,
and Shanghai and Jiangsu in July and December respectively. Two Chamber delegations
attended the Third China Fair for International Investment and Trade in Xiamen in
September and the first China Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen in October, both being the largest
delegations from Hong Kong. Some VIPs that the Chamber met during these programs last year
included State Councilor Wu Yi, MOFTEC Vice Minister Sun Guangxiang, Sichuan Vice Governor
Li Dachang, Jiangsu Vice Governor Wang Rongbin, Shanghai Mayor Xu Kuangdi, Nanjing Mayor
Wang Hongmin, Guangzhou Mayor Lin Shusen and Dalian Mayor Bo Xilai.
Apart from the above, the Chamber, in
cooperation with the Chinese Enterprises Confederation, also organised two Training
Seminars on "Attracting Foreign Funds in China's SOE Reform" in January and November. The Training Seminars, with the endorsement from
Premier Zhu Rongji himself, aimed to provide participants with modern concepts and
techniques for them to "package" and present
themselves to the international market. Around 250 senior managers from
State-owned-enterprises Mainland China participated in the Training Seminars.
Future Commitment
With China's imminent entry into the WTO, the
China Committee will work to the best of our ability to promote business connections
between Hong Kong and the Mainland. We firmly believe that, with enough preparation and
hard work, Hong Kong businesses can definitely strengthen their value-added middlemen role
and take advantage of this momentous turning point.
My two-year Chairmanship is now complete. It
has been a pleasure and honour to have had the opportunity to work with my Committee
members. I sincerely hope that you will be as supportive to the new Committee Chairman as
you have been to me. Thank you very much.
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