bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

CHINA and Britain have agreed to resume talks on the Chek Lap Kok airport financing plan on June 4, raising hopes that the multi-billion dollar scheme will soon receive Beijing's blessing.

  The Joint Liaison Group Airport Committee has not met for seven months, its deliberations ensnared in the political dispute over democratic reform proposals.

  Beijing's further step in showing co-operation with Britain has prompted legislators and business leaders to hail the news as signalling a warming in Sino-British relations.

  Investors jumped into the stock market on rumours that talks were going ahead, pushing the Hang Seng Index up 97.52 points to a record 7,447.24.

  Foreign investors, particularly those from China and the United States, contributed a substantial share of the $6.32 billion turnover on the day.

  One broker described the reaction to the airport news as a celebration.

  ''You know it's coming but when it happens you pop the cork and have a bottle of champagne,'' he said.

  It is understood that the two sides discussed three or four possible dates for the meeting but the British side chose June 4 as that was the earliest.

  Officials said that if an early agreement could be reached at the Airport Committee, the Government expected it could still meet the 1997 opening date of the new airport without adding to the price tag of $170 billion for the whole scheme.

  British team leader Mr Tony Galsworthy confirmed that informal discussions with the Chinese side on airport financing had been going on for a while.

  ''In the course of that, we have discussed variations to the plan we put forward last year. I am sure we should continue at the [new] meeting to discuss that,'' he said.

  Delighted at the resumption of talks, the Governor, Mr Chris Patten, said: ''I very much hope that can help lead to a speedy conclusion because the faster we got this tied up, the better for everyone.''   There is still no indication when a full meeting of the JLG might go ahead.

  Chinese team leader Mr Guo Fengmin said he hoped the plenary session could be held next month.

  And he hoped progress could be made in next week's airport meeting, adding that whether the talks would last for more than a day would be decided at a later stage.

  He declined to say whether the Chinese side had received a new financial proposal from its counterpart.

  There had been an exchange of views and the Chinese side had raised several questions, said Mr Guo.

  The two sides are deadlocked over how to reduce the financial burden left to the future Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government.

  China demanded the British side eliminate the need for providing a total of $21 billion callable equity to the Mass Transit Railway Corporation and the Airport Authority. But Britain counter-proposed that that would require the contribution of the SAR Land Fund as extra equity injections to the corporations.

  A Chinese source said Beijing found the proposed level of borrowing to fund the new airport and its rail link was still too high and needed to be cut.

  ''It is expected that the Airport Committee will hold several rounds of talks to discuss the new financing plan. It is unrealistic to expect the issue to be wholly resolved within a very short time,'' he said.

  Liberal Party legislator Mr Henry Tang Ying-yen said the resumption of talks signalled a warming of the Sino-British relations and that China was ready to separate politics from economics.

  United Democrats member Mr Albert Chan Wai-yip said they opposed any substantial increase in cash injected into the project by the Hongkong Government as it was unfair to Hongkong people.

  ''Before the two governments reach any final decision, they should consult the Legislative Council and the public concerning the financial arrangements,'' he said.



Market jumps as Beijing relents