Critics argue that the SAR government erred on the side of caution by refusing to act in areas of ambiguous jurisdiction and therefore limited the scope of Hong Kong's autonomy by default. In this regard, Hong Kong and China continue to grow more interdependent. Visible trade between the two has increased on average 28 percent per year since 1978. When it was discovered that the bankrupt Guangdong International Trade and Investment Corporation owed twice the amount of debt previously believed, the Hang Seng Index dived. Yet China also depends on Hong Kong, still its main source of accumulated foreign direct investment and its second-largest trading partner.
China changes too.
Against this backdrop arises a potentially delicate issue. With slowing market reforms, China may not meet WTO accession requirements this year. Meanwhile, Taiwan has already completed most of the bilateral negotiations it needs for WTO entry. Such questions might trigger renewed U.S. congressional inquiry under the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 as to whether Hong Kong merits U.S treatment as a separate entity. 1 Representative Christopher Cox chaired the House Select Committee on the People's Republic of China Technology Transfers.