16
Relations with China
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20. Mr. Saunders asked whether there was any prospect of Her Majesty's Government reopening a Consulate in Shanghai. Mr. Stewart said that there was no present intention to do so. The amount of business there was small and the Chinese authorities in Shanghai seemed to be peculiarly difficult. Mr. Saunders said that the difficulties arose partly because there was no representation in Shanghai. Mr. Murray said that though we had never asked, it was inconceivable, in his view, that China would allow us to reopen an office in Shanghai. Even when we had had one there the Chinese had never recognised its status. There was a Consul in Peking and it did not seem that a Consul in Shanghai would achieve better access than he was able to do. Mr. Saunders commented that he took a different view.
21. Mr. Clague asked about relations with China. Mr. Stewart said that they were easier than in 1967. The detention of seven British subjects by the Chinese was in our view unjustifiable, but political relations were easier and economically there had definitely been some improvement. We were trying to work gradually for an improvement and he had resisted pressure for reprisals, partly because there was no effective reprisal, but more particularly because he thought it was the wrong way to proceed. Did Hong Kong think that we took too easy a view? The meeting agreed that it was right to work slowly for a general improvement.
British/Hong Kong trade
22. Mr. Clague said that he thought that British trade was losing ground in Hong Kong because Britain had taken the Hong Kong market too much for granted. This was changing and Britain was doing better now. Mr. Herries agreed.
23. Mr. Browne said that he was concerned about the entry into the United Kingdom of textiles from Portugal on more favourable terms than Hong Kong enjoyed.
The polytechnic
24. Sir Albert Rodrigues said that there were plans for a polytechnic and Hong Kong would welcome offers for equipment from Britain. Dr. Chung added that they had received many offers from other countries and this was not merely charity; graduates from the polytechnic would in a few years be buyers for their firms and would be prejudiced in favour of machinery on which they themselves had learned their trades.
25. The meeting then adjourned.
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