Tariffs with Hong Kong to be reduced

China and
Hong Kong have signed a bilateral trade agreement that will cut China's tariffs on Hong
Kong goods and remove barriers to services exports. Under the Closer Economic
Partnership Agreement, China will remove tariffs on 273 Hong Kong products from
January 1 and remove remaining tariffs by the end of 2005 at the latest. The agreement
also provides for market liberali-sation in 14 services sectors provided by Hong Kong
companies on the mainland, The agreement was signed at a ceremony attend-ed by
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao during his visit to the territory in June.