New British consul-general hopes Britain-HK relations further enhanced

HONG KONG, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Britain looks forward to further developing and strengthening its links with Hong Kong, said Andrew Seaton, the new British consul-general to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), here on Tuesday.

Seaton made the remarks at a press conference on his first day in the office.

He said that relationship between Britain and China is the best it has been, providing "a strong base on which to try to develop the relationship between Britain and Hong Kong still further."

"Hong Kong moves fast, changes fast, and develops fast," he said, recalling that when he left Hong Kong in 2000, people's mood was downbeat because of the sliding economy resulting from the Asian financial crisis.

"But now the mood is much more positive," he said, adding that Hong Kong's relations with the mainland are also "more comfortable".

Seaton said that during his term of office here, he will work hard to boost the economic and trade ties with Hong Kong and looks forward to working with the HKSAR government on climate change.

Seaton served as British deputy consul-general to the HKSAR until 2000, and over the past four years, he was British consul- general in Chicago, the United States.