During talks with members of a Hong Kong industrial and commercial delegation and prominent Hong Kong figures of the early 1980s, Deng expounded the "one country, two systems" concept. He suggested that there should only be one China, but the regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, once reunified with the rest of the country, could retain their original economic and political systems while other parts continue to pursue socialism.

Following this principle, the Chinese government solved the question of Hong Kong through diplomatic negotiations with the British government, and resumed sovereignty on July 1, 1997, fulfilling the common aspiration of the Chinese people for the recovery of Hong Kong.