EXECUTIVE Councillor Ms Rosanna Wong Yick-ming said yesterday that neither China nor Britain had backed down in allowing the talks to go ahead.
Hongkong officials would take part in next week's talks in the same way as they had done in other Sino-British negotiations, she said.
''I don't think it's a matter of who has given up a position or not. I think the most important thing is that we should be constructive and positive in looking into the negotiations ahead of us,'' she added.
Although no special Executive Council meeting had been held before Tuesday's announcement that talks would resume next Thursday, Ms Wong said this did not mean Hongkong's top policy-making body had been sidelined.
This was because the existing arrangements met the bottom line position set by the Governor's ''cabinet''.
Ms Wong refused to give a straight reply on whether Hongkong officials would be full members of the British team, merely reiterating that they would retain the same status they had held in other negotiations.