"Hong Kong's economic figures for the third and fourth weeks of July are much better than I had expected," said Tung after hearing opinions of representatives from Hong Kong media.

In the short term, the priority should be given to employment, said Tung, noting that tourism is very important to creating more jobs for Hong Kong citizens. The HKSAR government has made a plan to create a total of 72,000 jobs from April to August. Out of them,nearly 20,000 jobs are given to youngsters.

In the medium and long term, Hong Kong should further push forward the cooperation with the Pearl River Delta, and acceleratethe economic restructuring by taking advantage of the Mainland/Hong Kong Closer Economical Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), said Tung.

While Hong Kong is under the impact of economic globalization, the rapid economic growth of the Chinese mainland has brought great opportunities for Hong Kong, Tung said, citing its excellent service, financial and logistics sectors as Hong Kong's strengths.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2003)