Hong Kong has enormous strength to help it survive the international economic downturn, British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Bill Rammell said here Thursday.

Briefing the media in Hong Kong on his China trip, Rammell said he had discussions with senior officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government Thursday on the current situation amid the international economic downturn.

"I certainly think Hong Kong will survive. I think it has got enormous strength in business terms and in economic terms," he said.

Rammell arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday on the last leg of a four-day China visit.

He reiterated that the U.K. welcomed the confidence and stability in Hong Kong and the fact that the "One Country, Two Systems" continued to work well.

The bilateral relationship between China and the U.K. is "very strong," Rammell said, citing the launch of a China strategy by British government on Thursday.

Both the U.K. and China agreed on the need for greater international coordination and efforts like fiscal stimuli and greater openness and transparency in the banking and insurance system to tackle the international economic downturn, he added.

Source: Xinhua