In 1987, Portugal signed the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration with the People's Republic of China to establish the process and conditions for the transfer of sovereignty of Macau, its last remaining overseas possession. While this process was similar to the agreement between the United Kingdom and China two years earlier regarding Hong Kong, the Portuguese transfer to China was met with less resistance than that of Britain regarding Hong Kong, as Portugal had already recognized Macau as Chinese territory under Portuguese administration in 1979. Under the transfer agreement, Macau is to be governed under a one country, two systems policy, in which it will retain a high degree of autonomy and maintain its capitalist way of life for at least 50 years after the handover in 2049. The handover on December 20, 1999 officially marked the end of the Portuguese Empire and end of colonialism in Asia.