Hong Kong maintains a separate political system from China since 1980.
Hong Kong . In the early 1980s , negotiations between the United Kingdom and China resulted in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration , which paved way for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997 , when it became a special administrative region ( SAR ) of the Peoples Republic of China with a high degree of autonomy . Under the principle of `` one country , two systems '' , Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China . Tensions between people from Hong Kong and mainland China have developed since the handover of Hong Kong 's sovereignty to China in 1997 , and in particular since the late 2000s and early 2010s .