The Chief Executive Mr Tung Chee Hwa said today (September 10, US time) he has held 'very meaningful and engaging' discussions on Hong Kong's future democratic evolution and economic development with key political and business leaders in the US capital.

Mr Tung said the exchanges of views over the past two-and-a-half days had been candid, friendly and had 'helped deepen the understanding on both sides'.

"I thought they were very, very useful," he said.

"I was also very pleased that most of the friends, most of the people I met in Washington, appreciate and understand how well the transition has gone.

"I also went on to explain how confident we are about our future. We discussed, obviously, our election next year."

The Chief Executive said he was very glad he had made the trip and believed 'we have achieved most of the objectives we had set out to do'.

He said he was looking forward to his scheduled meeting with US President Bill Clinton in Washington on Friday (September 12, US time).

In another full day of meetings, the Chief Executive started his day with a breakfast hosted by the Heritage Foundation, a US think-tank which has consistently rated Hong Kong as the world's freest economy.

Mr Tung then followed this with a series of meetings and discussions with key US political leaders including the Assistant Senate Majority leader Don Nickles, the House leadership hosted by Chris Cox, Senator Jesse Helms and Senators Connie Mack and Joe Lieberman.

He also held an hour-long meeting with the House International Relations Committee and the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

Mr Tung had lunch with members of another influential think-tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and tonight appeared on the influential national news and current affairs programme 'The News Hour with Jim Lehrer'.

During the programme, he explained on national television Hong Kong's confidence about the future, the arrangements for next year's elections and the development of Hong Kong's political systems over the next 10 years.

The final engagement of his Washington trip was a 45-minute press conference with international, US and Hong Kong media.

In his talks with political and business leaders, Mr Tung said he had emphasized the very important relationship that Hong Kong has with the United States.

He said he had taken the opportunity to explain Hong Kong's return had been very smooth, that people in Hong Kong were very proud about the reunification with China and that 'we are very confident about the future'.

"We also went on to talk about issues that we are very concerned about, issues such as law enforcement, enforcement against intellectual property rights and money laundering," said Mr Tung.

"Issues that generally relate to law enforcement were also discussed because these are issues where we in Hong Kong feel very deeply, and they are very important in the United States also."

In regards to elections, Mr Tung explained that the Basic Law mapped out the political evolution of Hong Kong over the next 10 years.

"There is a Basic Law which defines very clearly how we move forward, and we will do it in accordance with the Basic Law, and from my point of view, this is a good way to do it," he said.

"It is a gradual, step-by-step approach and I think it suits Hong Kong very well.

"Discussion centres around next year's election here (in the US) but what I'm trying to tell everybody is, hey, you have to look way beyond next year and see what's going to happen 10 years from now, 20 years from now, because we have to look far in the development of our political institutions."

* Photo: Chief Executive at the press conference in Washington