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Sino-British Joint Liaison Group () or simply Joint Liaison Group was a meeting group formed in 1985 between the Governments of the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China after signing of

Sino–British Joint Declaration The Sino-British Joint Declaration was a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and People's Republic of China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance o ...

(''Joint Declaration'' for short), a treaty for the transfer of

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

of Hong Kong from Britain to China. It was set up for liaison, consultation and the exchange of information to implement the Joint Declaration and make the transfer of

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

in 1997 smooth. The JLG ceased operations on 31 December 1999, two years after the transfer of sovereignty.

Background

The purpose of the Joint Liaison Group was to: (a) conduct consultations on the implementation of the Joint Declaration; (b) discuss matters relating to the smooth transfer of government in 1997; (c) exchange information and conduct consultations on such subjects as may be agreed by the two sides. The Joint Liaison Group was specifically tasked with: (1) the action to be taken by the two Governments to enable the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to maintain its economic relations as a separate customs territory, and in particular to ensure the maintenance of Hong Kong's participation in the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

(now the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

), the

Multi Fibre Arrangement The Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA) governed the world trade in textiles and garments from 1974 through 1994, imposing quotas on the amount developing countries could export to developed countries. Its successor, the Agreement on Textiles and Clot ...

and other international arrangements; (2) the action to be taken by the two Governments to ensure the continued application of international rights and obligations of Hong Kong; (3) the procedures to be adopted for the smooth transition in 1997; (4) the action to assist the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to maintain and develop economic and cultural relations and conclude agreements on these matters with states, regions and relevant international organisations.

Record keeping

The full official proceedings of the meetings of the group were closed and remain secret, and it was last decided on application in 2015 that the British version of the details would remain closed under the 40-year Rule, and will only be opened and released no earlier than 1 January 2026 under the "International Relations – prejudice" exemption as provided for under Section 21(1)(a)(c)(d) of the

Freedom of Information Act 2000 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public right of access to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in t ...

, according to the

National Archives of the United Kingdom The National Archives (TNA; ) is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the ...

(TNA (UK)), formerly known as the Public Records Office (PRO (UK)).

References

British Hong Kong 20th century in China Politics of Hong Kong 20th century in the United Kingdom China–United Kingdom relations Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty Organizations established in 1985 Organizations disestablished in 2000 {{HongKong-hist-stub