bias wards British machinery.
understand that the Department of Trade &
Industry strongly support the proposal to make a grantänder the and
program.
4. You mentioned in your letter that one of your main objections related to trade considerations, saying that while you were certainly prepared te
take such considerations into account you very rarely
provided money for trade promotion purposes elone and–
that skilEXYBEXWEREXcertaintyxNÒPAITEÅXİextakexansk
thie wae something which more closely concerned-
John Davice' Department. The DTI are of course
directly responsible for straight-forward trade
promotion, eg, exhibitions and trade missions, but
it seems to me that where, as in this case, other
considerations are involved, trade promotion is a
legitimate if subsidiary objective of our aid policy
and that aid provided with trade promotion as an
the objective should come from ODA Votes rather than the
DTI enes,
In considering our response to what Mr Tang told me I have to take into account not only trade
considerations but also the strong feeling in Hong
Kong that we have neglected the Colony in recent
years the feeling that Britain, so far from being
proud of Hong Kong's achievements, regards the
Colony as a nuisance and an impediment.
to
In the past
war years we left Hong Kong grapple alone (without
significant financial assistance) with the tremendous
problems posed by the influx of refugees from China.
At the same time we are seen in Hong Kong as having
Series of
dealt the Colony a sorians 'blows to its trade
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2