Sino-British Joint Declaration

**Sino–British Joint Declaration**
Sino–British Joint Declaration
Traditional Chinese	中英聯合聲明
Simplified Chinese	中英联合声明
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōng-Yīng Liánhé Shēngmíng
Wade–Giles	Chung1-Ying1 Lien2-ho2 Sheng1-ming2
Hakka
Romanization	Zung1-Yin1 Lien2hap6 Sang1min2
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Jūng-yīng lyùhnhahp singmìhng
Jyutping	Zung1-Jing1 Lyun4hap6 Sing1ming4
IPA	[tsʊ́ŋjɪ́ŋ ly̏ːnhɐ̀p ɕɪ́ŋmɪ̏ŋ]
Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong
Traditional Chinese	中華人民共和國政府和大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合王國政府關於香港問題的聯合聲明
Simplified Chinese	中华人民共和国政府和大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国政府关于香港问题的联合声明
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó zhèngfŭ hé Dà Búlièdiàn jí Běi Ài'ěrlán Liánhé Wángguó zhèngfŭ guānyú Xiānggǎng Wèntí de Liánhé Shēngmíng
Hakka
Romanization	Zung1fa2 Ngin2min2 Kiung4fo2get5(or gok5) zin4fu3 fo2 Tai4 But5liet6dien1 kip6 Bet5 Oi4li3(or ni3)lan2 Lien2hap6 Vong2get5(or gok5) zin4fu3 gan1yi1 Hiong1gong3 Mun4ti2 dit5(or e4) Lien2hap6 Sang1min2
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Jūngwàah Jàhnmàhn Guhngwòhgwok jing fú wòh daaih bāk liht dīn kahp bāk oi yíh làahn lyùhn hahp wòhng gwok jing fú gwāan yū heùng góng mahn taìh dīk lyùhn hahp sīng mìhng
Jyutping	Zung1waa4 Jan4man4 Gung6wo4gwok3 zing3fu2 wo4 Daai6 Bak1lit6din1 kap6 Bak1 Oi3ji5laan4 Lyun4hap6 Wong4gwok3 zing3fu2 gwaan1jyu1 Hoeng1gong2 Man6tai4 dik1 Lyun4hap6 Sing1ming4

Sino-British Joint Declaration
中英联合声明
Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong
	The Great Hall of the People, where the Joint Declaration was signed
Context	Agreement on the future of Hong Kong
Drafted	June 1984 to September 1984
Signed	19 December 1984
Location	Great Hall of the People, Beijing, China
Effective	27 July 1985 in UK view
Condition	Exchange of ratifications
Expiry	30 June 1997 in China View
Negotiators	British delegation led by Percy Cradock and Richard Evans, Chinese delegation led by Yao Guang and Zhou Nan
Signatories	Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Zhao Ziyang, Premier of the State Council of People's Republic of China;
Parties	United Kingdom; China;
Languages	English; Chinese;
Full text
	Sino-British Joint Declaration at Wikisource

The Sino-British Joint Declaration was a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after 1 July 1997.

Hong Kong had been a colony of the British Empire since 1842 after the First Opium War and its territory was expanded on two occasions; first in 1860 with the addition of Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island, and again in 1898 when Britain obtained a 99-year lease for the New Territories. The date of the handover in 1997 marked the end of this lease.

The Chinese government declared in the treaty its basic policies for governing Hong Kong after the transfer. A special administrative region would be established in the territory that would be self-governing with a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign affairs and defence. Hong Kong would maintain its existing governing and economic systems separate from that of mainland China under the principle of "one country, two systems". This blueprint would be elaborated on in the Hong Kong Basic Law (the post-handover regional constitution) and the central government's policies for the territory were to remain unchanged for a period of 50 years after 1997.

China has stated since 2014 that it considers the treaty to be spent with no further legal effect, while the United Kingdom maintains that the document remains binding in operation. Following China's 2020 imposition of national security legislation on Hong Kong and a 2021 National People's Congress decision to approve a rework of local election laws that reduces the number of regional legislature seats elected by the public, the UK has declared China as being in a "state of ongoing non-compliance" with the Joint Declaration.

China deemed the document expired and invalid as of June 30, 1997, while the UK continues to believe that it remains valid and effective.
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