Case 105 - The Sixteen-Character Solution: Negotiations between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China over the Future of Hong Kong, September 1982-September 1984

Staniland, Martin

In the summer of 1982, the British and Chinese governments undertook negotiations to determine the future of Hong Kong, the adjacent New Territories, and their six million inhabitants after the expiration of Britain’s lease on the New Territories in 1997. An agreement was initialed in September 1984 providing for the establishment of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in 1997--guaranteeing substantial administrative and economic autonomy for the territory during the subsequent 50 years. This case study’s analysis of the two governments’ respective negotiating strategies throughout the two-year process should stimulate discussion of the distinctive problems faced in negotiating transfers of sovereignty.