Sino-British Negotiations on the Handover of Hong Kong (1979–1997)

By: Wanglai Gao

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Synopsis: In 1997, the smooth handover of Hong Kong between China and the United Kingdom defied pessimistic predictions about Hong Kong's future. The successful resolution of the Hong Kong issue was the result of 18 years of diplomatic exchanges between Chinese and British negotiators from 1979 to 1997. The two countries were involved in intensive interactions on issues such as sovereignty and administration, democratic reform in Hong Kong, the drafting of the Hong Kong Basic Law, and the PLA garrison. The book draws on a wealth of primary sources, including oral histories, British parliamentary testimony and the memoirs of Chinese and British officials. It reveals fascinating bilateral exchanges between Chinese and British strategists and discloses the secret negotiations between the Chinese and the British. The book will be of interest to historians, scholars and analysts of Chinese diplomacy.