Tung Chee Hwa Calls US Tour "Very Good Visit"

Visiting Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Tung Chee Hwa, on Wednesday described his visit to the United States a "very good " one and expressed pleasure with US President George Bush's attaching of "a great deal of importance to the Sino-US relationship."

After a half-hour meeting with Bush, Tung told a media stand-up that he briefed the U.S. president about how Hong Kong is doing with the "one country, two systems" policy, how Hong Kong has recovered from the Asian financial turmoil, and the prospect for Hong Kong after China's WTO accession.

Tung said he exchanged views with Bush about China. Bush " attaches a great deal of importance to the Sino-U.S. relationship" and "is looking forward to visiting China's Beijing and Shanghai in Autumn," he said.

Tung said that he is pleased that, at this moment, Sino-U.S. relationship "is moving forward in a very positive way."

Tung also said he expressed appreciation for the Bush administration's initiative on normal trade relations with China. "It is very important for China, for the United States of America, and very important for Hong Kong as well," he added.

The chief executive stressed that he has always held that Sino- U.S. relationship is very important to Hong Kong. "So I was very pleased to hear that from President Bush," he said.

Also on Wednesday, Tung met with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and several congressmen. Tung arrived in Washington D.C. on Tuesday and will leave for San Francisco on Thursday.

People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/