 Beginning as a trading port in the 19th century, Hong Kong has developed into one of the world's leading financial centres.Hong Kong was a Crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1842 to 1981 and was a British dependent territory from 1981 until the transfer of its sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997.The Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Hong Kong stipulate that Hong Kong operate with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2047, fifty years after the transfer.