Hong Kong Treaty, the end of colonial rule and rise of sovereignty

The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, also known as the Hong Kong Treaty, was an agreement between the United Kingdom and China regarding the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong.

Signed on December 19, 1984

The treaty was signed on December 19, 1984 in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, and came into effect on July 1, 1997, when China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over the territory.

The treaty stipulated that, under the "one country, two systems" principle, Hong Kong would be governed as a special administrative region of China and would retain its capitalist economic system and way of life for a period of 50 years from the date of transfer.

The treaty also addressed the question of the opium trade, which had been a major cause of tension between the two countries during the Opium War. The British agreed to gradually reduce the opium trade and to provide opium addicts with medical treatment.

A major step in normalizing relations between UK-China

The treaty was a major step in the normalization of relations between the two countries, and paved the way for China's entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.